Sunday, April 08, 2018

Hungary's prime minister favorite for election

“We believe Poles and Hungarians have a common path, common fight and common goal: to build and defend our homeland in the form that we want ... Christian and with national values,”  Orban said.

The Hungarian government refuses to implement a European Court of Justice (ECOJ) decision demanding it accepts refugees. Orban  speaks of "EU dictates" and incites against an "infiltration by Islamic invaders" and "Merkel's refugees" on the campaign trail.

Hungary has consistently been one of the biggest recipients of EU development funds since it joined the bloc in 2004. Over the last decade, Brussels has pumped some €34 billion ($42 billion) into Hungary. Many ask: "Why is Orban biting the hand that feeds him?"     

That hand not only feeds Orban, it also feeds many in his extended family. The EU's anti-corruption agency, OLAF, released a report in January that claimed a company belonging to Orban's son-in-law regularly received huge sums of EU development funds The OLAF report cited what it called "grave irregularities and conflicts of interest." 

The Pester Lloyd newspaper claims that Orban is enriching himself as well, possibly through the sale of so-called golden visas, which essentially allow wealthy foreigners to attain EU residency by buying Hungarian sovereign bonds, those migrants Orban welcomes.

The European Commission once again filed suit against Hungary before the ECOJ in Luxembourg. This time it did so to challenge a Hungarian law it claims illegally limits the ability of nongovernmental organizations to work in Hungary. The law is aimed, above all, at Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist George Soros, whom Orban has declared a personal enemy because of the billionaire's liberal politics. Orban has gone so far as to use anti-Semitic language when mentioning Soros on the campaign trail, describing a faceless, international enemy who prefers financial speculation to work.

http://www.dw.com/en/eu-wants-to-hit-hungarys-viktor-orban-where-it-hurts-the-wallet/a-43289207

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