Hungarian lawmakers approved anti-corruption measures on June 23, part of new Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s sweeping reform drive and aimed at helping the country get billions of euros in withheld European Union funds.
The EU announced late last month it would unlock more than 16 billion euros ($18 billion) for Hungary that had been frozen over rule-of-law concerns during nationalist premier Viktor Orban’s rule, if Budapest stays on track with a major reform push.
Pro-EU conservative Magyar ousted Orban from office after 16 years in power in an April election, on a promise of “regime change.”
The anti-graft legislation easily passed a vote in parliament, where Magyar’s party holds more than two-thirds of the seats, enabling it to change key laws and amend the constitution without opposition support.
The approved legislation expands the legal powers of the anti-graft watchdog, the Integrity Authority, which was established in late 2022 as part of an earlier EU-mandated reform package.
Under the new regulations, the organization will scrutinize asset declarations and can seek continuation of anti-corruption investigations through the courts and suspend procurement processes to protect EU funds.
In addition, the legislation prescribes stricter transparency requirements for the ownership structures of private equity funds.
It also orders public interest asset management foundations, so-called KEKVAs, to be dissolved, with the state reclaiming assets granted to these entities under Orban’s rule estimated to be worth a total of 8.5 billion euros.
The bill also tightens the rules around politicians’ annual asset declarations, criminalizing deliberate omissions.
The EU froze billions of euros in funds earmarked for Budapest because of democratic backsliding, graft concerns and the restricting of LGBTQ rights under Orban’s rule.
