The European Commission (EC) is in open violation of relevant EU laws by not disbursing the recovery funds due to Hungary, the head of the European Parliament delegation of the country's ruling Fidesz party told Hungary's public broadcaster.

Paolo Gentiloni, the EU Commissioner for Economy, revealed that the Recovery Fund money Hungary is entitled to is not being disbursed because the Commission has an issue with discriminative points in the Hungarian education legislation, Tamas Deutsch said.

„This statement is an incredibly glaring admission,”

said the governing party politician.

He highlighted that the Italian Commissioner had stated earlier that the Hungarian Child Protection law had nothing to do with the European Commission’s foot-dragging.

“Barely a month has passed since and Commissioner Gentiloni is coming out with the truth,” Tamas Deutsch said stressing that withholding funds Hungary is entitled to is not simply a move that is politically unacceptable but is an open breach of law.

He underlined that the Commission is raising concerns over an issue that clearly falls within the competence of a member state. Even if this were not the case, no political considerations can be applied to the disbursement of funding. In light of all this, the Hungarian government is set to take action against this unlawful procedure with doubled efforts, the MEP of Fidesz stated.

“The European Commission’s admission, the admission of sabotage and of the blatant violation of the law obviously cannot be left unaddressed,” Tamas Deutsch said, adding that the Hungarian government could initiate legal proceedings, while Fidesz will raise the issue at all legal forums of the European Parliament.

Touching on France’s EU presidency, the politician of the governing party noted that French President Emmanuel Macron had made statements, some of which allow for cautious optimism while others raise concerns.

Mr Deutsch pointed out that the French president had not used the customary “language of the rule-of-law frenzy” in his statements at the EP, which is grounds for some optimism. While he described it as a cause for concern that instead of an EU based on the cooperation of strong nation states, Mr Macron spoke about building a community where the sovereignty of the 27 nations would be replaced by a single European sovereignty. This is unacceptable, Tamas Deutsch stressed.

The Fidesz MEP underscored that the EU continues to apply double standards against Central European governments, specifically against right-wing, conservative, Christian democratic governments pursuing nation-committed and patriotic policies.

As an example, he referred to a statement by the Dutch prime minister who said that institutionalised racism is rampant within his country’s police force, yet “none of the EU institutions are batting an eye”.

On the other hand, when “Central European countries are targeted with false accusations of racism and discrimination or political smears”, the leaders of these EU institutions “tend to join the ranks of accusers”, Tamas Deutsch pointed out.

Speaking about the general elections in Hungary this April, he noted that just as in 2014 and 2018, now too, “any international organisation that wants to come [observe] can come to Hungary”. “If anyone wants to play the game of observing elections, they are free to come, we have nothing to hide,” he said. Hungary is a democracy and a state governed by the rule of law, where the elections will be free and fair again.

In the EP, “the leftists are provoking a very much familiar hysteria around the elections in Hungary”, with which Europe’s left-wing “wants to help Hungary’s weak-handed left”, the politician underlined.

„Life must be terrible for Western European politicians who are forced to repeatedly say the deceitful mantra against Hungary” despite their own personal convictions for fear of „attacks from the NGO world dominated by George Soros’s organisations”, Tamas Deutsch remarked. These politicians know that they are telling lies, and regardless of party affiliation, sometimes manage to utter words of praise to politicians from Hungary’s two ruling parties as they pass by them in the corridors, Tamas Deutsch added.