Early this month prime minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary was reelected by a large margin, winning 54% of the popular vote. Two days after the election European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that Hungary’s EU funding would be cut. The commission seems to have awaited the election result before taking steps against the Hungarian government. An unwarranted action, as it gives the appearance that the European commission favored the opposition. Of course, the election of the Hungarian parliament is the sole prerogative of the Hungarian people, not of an unelected board of civil servants. In this context it seems that this latest action can be seen as part of an ongoing struggle between Brussels and mutinous member states. As I wrote previously, The Polish government and Von der Leyen have already clashed over judiciary reforms. In that article I wrote that Poland’s critics should recognize two things: first of all, that Polish voters have just as much to say about what constitute ‘European values’ as Western Europeans. Secondly, that the judiciary should not be used to prevent political change. Both of these arguments apply to Hungary as well. Nevertheless, Von der Leyen’s intervention is justified this time.

A budgetary matter

The official cause for the intervention is the failure of the Hungarian government to respond adequately to a letter sent by Director-General for Budget Gert-Jan Koopman last fall. The letter itself is not published but the sender already gives us a hint that its contents relate purely to budgetary matters. The European commission is simply concerned that there are not enough safeguards in place to ensure that its funds are adequately spent. Koopman asked specifically for evidence on EU funds disappearing into the pockets of prime minister Orbán and his associates. It is not only the right but the responsibility of the European commission to ensure that the funds it disburses in the name of all EU citizens is not used for personal corruption. If Orbán is innocent he should prove it and if he is not, we should know about this. Corruption should be rooted out wherever it takes place. It should not matter if the culprit is a conservative or a progressive.

Beyond good and evil

 Sadly, both politicians and media are portraying these measures as part of a struggle between ‘good’ and ‘evil’, complaining about ‘rigged elections’, ‘democratic backsliding’ and ‘LGBT rights’; all topics that have nothing to do with the proposed sanctions. The Guardian went as far as to describe Orbán as a ‘Putin ally’. Luckily, Hungary has been a staunch member of NATO since 1999 and has never been associated with Russia’s CSTO alliance. Moreover, Hungary has supported the EU sanctions against Russia. While Hungary is unwilling to stop importing Russian oil or deliver weapons to Ukraine, this does not make it reasonable to call Hungary a Russian ally.

Painting a dispute about EU funds as an epic battle between good and evil will only serve to politicize the issue. The last thing the EU needs is to antagonize Hungary to the point where it does decide it no longer wants to be part of a common approach to the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, any measure taken to prevent misappropriation of EU funds are to be commended. Politicization of the issue will only serve to make its success less likely.