Orbán annoys IMF and EU

Published on 13 April 2012 at 11:27

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“Europe has had enough of Orbán’s lies”, announcesNépszava. The Budapest daily explains that the Hungarian government has shied away from conditions imposed by the European Commission, the IMF and European Union for negotiations on financial aid to the country. At stake is a loan for 15 to 20 billion euros.

Talks are bogged down, however, because “the Hungarian government has responded to European concerns with bogus promises”. The left-leaning daily continues -

For weeks, the Hungarian government has been aware of the conditions, which it has refused to accept. [...] The situation is clear. Brussels wants an end to the subversion of democracy, which must be restored. Orbán does not want to commit to such a change.

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For its part, rival left-wing daily Népszabadság points out that —

… the government is in tight spot. […] The conditions for the loan, which have been known since January, have not changed. The state will have to guarantee the independence of the National Bank and the reliable functioning of the justice system. […] And that is not all: other problems have emerged with the new fundamental laws — notably with regard to legislation on the family and the electoral code — because Europe now believes that our country’s new constitutional system should be examined in its entirety. […] With regard to the very precise conditions concerning the justice system, it is clear that the rule of law is a point of honour for the EU. Brussels is not willing to negotiate on this point.

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