Hungary Adopts Anti-Corruption Strategy to Unlock EU Funds

Hungary has announced a new anti-corruption strategy in a bid to secure billions of euros in frozen European Union funding, Bloomberg reports.

The country’s cabinet approved anti-fraud and anti-graft measures related to EU funding but details of the strategy have yet to be published. The government did not provide a specific timeline.

The European Union has withheld approximately €20 billion (around $22 billion) in funding earmarked for Hungary due to concerns about corruption. Hungary is considered to be the most corrupt EU nation, according to Transparency International’s latest survey.

As an example, Hungarian media on Thursday reported arrests of three officials from Budapest’s 3rd district, including the district mayor, László Kiss, on corupption charges.

 Earlier this year, the head of Hungary’s Integrity Authority, an institution created at the EU’s request to combat misuse of funds, called for additional powers to tackle high-level corruption.