English
The new Hungarian government of Peter Magyar is facing growing accusations that it is using the fight against corruption and the announced return of state property as a basis for a showdown with companies linked to the previous government of Viktor Orbán.
The conservative newspaper Magyar Nemzet assesses that this is a matter of “revengeful rule”, which could lead to a halt in investments, a violation of legal certainty and a threat to jobs. An example is the decision of the Hungarian Development Bank to exclude the company Opus Titas from the programs for the development of the electricity grid and the installation of smart meters, financed through the European Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
The company claims that it had previously successfully passed the eligibility and transparency check, after which its offer was also professionally assessed. On August 6, they were asked for documents necessary for concluding the contracts, but were then further excluded due to alleged failure to meet the transparency requirements.
Opus Titas believes that changing the rating after the end of the procedure calls into question the predictability of the entire system and could leave consumers in eastern Hungary without planned investments in the electricity grid.
The 4iG group has also come under fire. Prime Minister Magyar announced that the government would review all its contracts with the state and that it would seek to return money and assets that it believes belong to Hungarian citizens.
4iG responded that its operations, the company’s development, transactions and concluded contracts have always been in accordance with Hungarian and European law and have been subject to appropriate legal, financial and management controls.
The government presents the audits as necessary measures for greater transparency and protection of public funds. Its critics, however, warn that retroactively changing the conditions and targeting companies linked to the previous government could create the impression that political affiliation is becoming more important than economic results.
The key question is whether Hungary is truly conducting an impartial clean-up of possible abuses or whether, under the name of transparency, it is starting an economic and political showdown that will ultimately be paid for by companies, workers, and citizens.