NGOs

Hungarian-born American financier George Soros unpopular in Hungary – Survey

Budapest (MTI) – According to a survey conducted by the Századvég Foundation in December, the partisan, interfering politics represented by Hungarian-born American financier George Soros and the organisations he is funding are highly unpopular in Hungary.

Soros has been funding numerous organisations and initiatives in Hungary since the end of the Communist era.

The results of the survey, conducted with a sample of 1,000 people from December 10 to 15, were communicated to MTI on Friday. Fully 61 percent of respondents have a negative opinion of Soros while 14 percent have a favourable view.

The survey highlights a strong correlation between political views and the financier’s opinions: he is unpopular with 81 percent of those professing right-wing sympathies and 55 percent of those with centrist political preferences. Fully 41 percent of left-wing voters have a positive opinion of him. Breaking down the poll results according to party preferences shows that those with unfavourable views of Soros are in majority in all parties except for leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) and Együtt parties.

A vast majority of Hungarians, 88 percent of respondents, rejects soft-power politics, where political or economic entities influence the government or the policies of a country through non-governmental organisations, Századvég found. This opinion is unanimous among Hungarian citizens of all political persuasions. The majority of respondents view political soft power, when funded from abroad, as an infringement of the country’s sovereignty, the survey found.

The main reason for Soros’ low popularity is his open support of illegal migration, the survey said. As several other polls also suggest, Hungarians are wary of immigration and the growing threat of terrorism in Europe.

Photo: MTI

January 14, 2017

Jobbik proposes 5-party talks on NGO transparency

Budapest (MTI) – The opposition Jobbik party has called for five-party talks with a view to increasing the transparency of NGOs, Gábor Staudt, the party’s deputy parliamentary group leader, told a press conference on Thursday.

The transparency of politically active NGOs should be served by unbiased, uniform and up-to-date regulations, Staudt said.

He proposed the cross-party meeting for next week, adding that legislation should equally apply to domestic and foreign “influencers” in order to avoid government attempts to mute opposition voices only.

Gabor Staudt said it was “outrageous” that Fidesz had raised the issue when the pro-government CÖF organisation had put up posters all over the country aiming to ridicule Jobbik leader Gábor Vona. If CÖF operated transparently, this campaign could be clearly linked to the government, he added. The MP said there was a suspicion that Fidesz was stealthily supporting NGOs using public funds.

In a recent television interview, Szilárd Nemeth, deputy leader of the ruling Fidesz party, said “fake organisations” belonging to Hungarian-born American financier George Soros should be scrapped because they had been deliberately set up to influence Hungarian politics.

Christopher Stone, head of the Open Society Foundations, issued a statement afterwards vowing to carry on working in Hungary “to strengthen democracy, the rule of law and justice” by working together with local organisations.

The government is reportedly tabling a bill obliging the leaders of NGOs to make their income statements publicly available. Nemeth said “fake NGOs” of the “Soros-empire” should be curbed and “eliminated” because “they promote global capitalism and political correctness” in opposition to national governments.

January 13, 2017

Fidesz: Cut to household utility bills saves households 550 euros each year

Hungary's gas reserves consumption energy

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – Thanks to the government’s scheme to cut household utility bills, families are saving up to 170 000 forints (EUR 552) each year, deputy group leader of the ruling Fidesz party said on Wednesday.

Szilárd Németh told commercial channel ATV that the scheme launched in 2013 affected not only energy bills but sewage, water and the chimney-sweep fees too.

The effect of the price cuts means that public money which utility companies had previously siphoned off as profit out of the country was now being returned to the pockets of consumers, he said.

Between 2002-2010, inflation added up to 58 percent and the price of household gas went up by 206 percent, while electricity rose by 97 percent. Since then consumer prices have risen by 13 percent and gas and electricity price increases have slumped to 9.2 percent and 2.2 percent respectively, leaving the price rises well below the rate of inflation, he added.

Meanwhile, Németh responded to a question concerning his Tuesday statement on NGOs, saying that “fake organisations” belonging to Hungarian-born American financier George Soros should be scrapped because they were deliberately set up to influence Hungarian politics.

“They created a parallel world with their scholars and reports … financed and organised by a billionaire to address political questions” instead of professional and humanitarian ones.

Commenting on migration, he said “fake NGOs financed by George Soros entice immigrants to attack national politics, even though the country treats immigrants impeccably: here, their lodgings are not burnt down and they were never beaten,” Németh said.

January 11, 2017

Open Society Foundations vow to continue work in Hungary

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – The Open Society Foundations intend to carry on working in Hungary to strengthen democracy, the rule of law and justice by working together with local organisations, Christopher Stone, the organisation’s president, said on Wednesday.

The foundations backed by Hungarian-born American financier George Soros is committed to their activities in Hungary to create a more transparent and just society, even in the face of the government’s opposition, Stone said in a statement.

The statement comes after Szilárd Németh, deputy leader of the ruling Fidesz party, raised questions about the legitimacy of NGOs in Hungary. In response to a question concerning rumours about the government tabling a bill obliging the leaders of NGOs to make their income statements publicly available, Nemeth said “fake NGOs” of the “Soros-empire” should be curbed and “eliminated” because “they promote global capitalism and political correctness” in opposition to national governments.

Stone said the foundations had provided help across an “amazingly wide range” in the past three decades. In Communist times, they helped the spread of information by lending photocopiers. In the 1990s, they funded school internet programmes and donated over 3 million dollars for food programmes for schoolchildren, as well as donating ultrasound machines to Hungarian hospitals.

The foundations have offered over 3,000 grants to Hungarian students, he said, adding that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had been among them. When red sludge spilled from a Hungarian reservoir in 2010, making several villages uninhabitable, the foundations donated 1 million dollars in 2010 for the removal of the toxic matter.

Open Society Foundations currently support over 60 Hungarian NGOs active in fields such as independent journalism, civil participation and the fight against corruption and discrimination, the statement said.

Commenting on Nemeth’s remarks, opposition Socialist Party leader Gyula Molnár said the ruling party’s actions against NGOs were motivated by fear, and called the planned bill a “very serious step” towards dismantling the rule of law. Molnár said “the declaration of an open war” against civil organisations was “unprecedented”. He asked Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to make clear whether he, as leader of Fidesz, agreed with what the party’s deputy leader had said.

Opposition LMP party expert István Ferenczi told a press conference that the civil sector is just as important a pillar of democracy as those elected to power. An attack against the civil sector is an attack against democracy, he added. The government admits its own unsuitability and weakness when it cannot tolerate opposing opinions and threatens people and their organisations, he said. Instead of creating security, it generates fear, he said, adding that the government is actually threatening everybody who points out problems.

In an interview on Hungarian commercial television on Wednesday, Nemeth said “fake organisations” belonging to Soros should be scrapped because they had been deliberately set up to influence Hungarian politics.

“They created a parallel world with their scholars and reports … financed and organised by a billionaire to address political questions” instead of professional and humanitarian ones.

January 11, 2017

Socialists slam Fidesz deputy leader over comments on ‘repelling’ NGOs

Budapest, January 10 (MTI) – The Socialists slammed Fidesz deputy leader Szilárd Németh on Tuesday for comments he had made on the need to “clear away” civil groups from Hungary.

Answering a question about press reports suggesting that the government was tabling a bill that would mandate that the leaders of civil organisations file asset declarations, Nemeth told a press conference that the “false NGOs” of the “Soros empire”, which he said were being funded to advance “global capital and the world of political correctness” by circumventing national governments, needed to be “repelled by any means possible”. “I think they should be cleared away from here,” Németh said. He said the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency presented an “international opportunity” to fight off Soros-backed civil groups.

László Szakács, the Socialist Party’s deputy parliamentary group leader, said Németh’s comments that civil groups need to be “cleared away” from Hungary conjured up the language of dictatorships. “Only oppressive regimes threaten civil groups in this manner,” Szakacs said in a statement, adding that Németh’s comments were an “open and brutal demonstration of the arrogance of tyrannical power”.

Szakács said politicians who consider themselves democrats could not make such comments and called on Németh to resign.

He said that if Prime Minister “Viktor Orbán and company abandoned their corrupt ways they would not have to fear the scrutiny of NGOs”.

January 10, 2017

President nominated by MPs rather than civil groups, says proposed candidate

Budapest (MTI) – Former ombudsman László Majtényi, whose name has recently been suggested by a civil group as a possible candidate for Hungary’s next president, called that gesture an honour but said that the nomination was up to the National Assembly.

In a statement, Majtényi said that his nomination would “involve a special responsibility” and went on to say that decision makers should only support him if they meant to “restore democracy in which independent institutions ensure constitutional control over public authority as well as fundamental rights”. He added that voters should also be granted “the opportunity to replace the government from time to time”.

The civil call for Majtényi’s nomination was signed by public personalities including former foreign minister Kinga Göncz, sociologist Zsuzsa Ferge, philosopher Ágnes Heller, pastor Gábor Iványi, political scientist László Kéri and economist Maria Zita Petschnig.

The opposition Socialist and Dialogue parties have voiced support for the initiative.

The five-year term of János Áder, the incumbent president, will expire in May.

January 5, 2017

Socialists support ex-ombudsman to be nominated for president

Budapest (MTI) – László Majtényi, Hungary’s former ombudsman, could “represent the whole country” if elected president, the opposition Socialists said in a statement on Monday.

The idea of Majtényi’s nomination was raised by the President for the Republic civil group.

In their statement, the Socialists said Majtényi had already proven his commitment to a democratic rule of law and representing “those without power”.

“As ombudsman, Majtényi had worked to protect the rights, security and freedom of the people against the government at any time,” the statement said. The document added it would not serve Hungary’s interests if János Áder, the incumbent president, continued in his position and “assisted every move of the Orbán government, giving up values and principles”.

In its statement, the Socialist Party also called on the other “democratic” parties to support Majtenyi’s nomination.

January 3, 2017

WHO opens centre in Budapest

Budapest, December 13 (MTI) – The World Health Organisation’s Budapest centre was officially opened on Tuesday.

The WHO has moved some of its Geneva-based operations to Budapest, including its Collaborating Centre on Human Resources for Health Development. Its Budapest centre initially will be staffed by 20 people and it is possible that further operations could be transferred to Budapest at a later point.

István Mikola, state secretary at the foreign ministry, said at the opening ceremony that the organisation would help coordinate action to handle the big challenges currently facing the world. He said that Hungary had always closely cooperated with the WHO but “now we are much closer to each other”.

Dr Hans Troedsson, assistant director-general of the organisation, said the entire project perfectly demonstrated the effectiveness of recent months of cooperation between the WHO and the Hungarian government.

Photo: MTI

December 13, 2016

TI to monitor Hungarian motorway development under Integrity Pacts pilot project

Budapest (MTI) – Transparency International (TI) Hungary on Wednesday said it will monitor preparations for the construction of the final stretch of motorway M6, connecting Hungary and Croatia, under a pilot project launched by the European Union.

Under the EU’s “Integrity Pacts – Civil Control Mechanism for Safeguarding EU Funds” pilot project, TI Hungary is monitoring compliance with commitments made in Integrity Pacts by contracting authorities and economic operators bidding for public contracts to abstain from corrupt practices and conduct transparent procurement processes.

TI is monitoring 17 projects supported with EU funding in eleven member states.

Eszter Vitályos, state secretary for European Union developments, said transparency and public procurement procedures that fully comply with the law are of key importance to the government, thus the monitoring project enjoys its full support.

Róbert Nagy, who heads the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIF), said the tender for planning the 20 kilometre section of the motorway is expected to be called by the end of 2016. The winner will have until the end of 2017 to produce a plan for construction and obtain permits, after which a tender for construction can be called. Construction could start in the second quarter of 2018 and the stretch could be inaugurated in 2020, he added.

Photo: MTI (illustration)

October 27, 2016

Migrant quota referendum – Parties, NGOs continue campaigns

Budapest (MTI) – Hungary’s political parties continued their campaigns for the Oct. 2 migrant quota referendum on Saturday with three civil groups joining the fray for the “no” camp that rejects the European Union redistribution scheme.

Ruling Fidesz once again called on the left-wing parties to clarify their position on the European Union’s planned quota scheme.

Zoltán Rozgonyi, the party’s group leader in Budapest’s 14th district local council, said it was “outrageous” that the Dialogue for Hungary party’s Gergely Karácsony, the district’s mayor, had put out posters campaigning for a boycott of the referendum.

Rozgonyi told a press conference that the Fidesz group earlier attempted to pass a declaration in the council urging voters to participate in the referendum, but it was blocked by the left-wing representatives. He said this demonstrated that neither the mayor nor the left wing were willing to adopt a position on migrant quotas. Nor do they consider it important for the citizens of the 14th district to express their opinion on this matter, he said, adding that the left wing would rather leave the decision on migrant quotas up to the EU. “This is unacceptable from self-declared democratic politicians,” he said.

Rozgonyi reiterated his party’s stance that the referendum was about the future and security of Hungarian families, adding that it was only Hungarians who could decide whom they want to live together with.

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) said that the referendum had now “truly” become devoid of purpose, arguing that EU leaders had agreed at the Bratislava summit on Friday “to strengthen joint border protection efforts and that there will not be any mandatory refugee quotas in the future”.

“Now there is really nothing to hold a referendum about. We already knew that [Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán’s pretend referendum is about his own political interests and not the refugee crisis,” MEP Csaba Molnár said. He called on the prime minister to call off the referendum so that Hungary can “save several billions of forints and avoid two weeks of hate-mongering”.

Green opposition LMP called for a uniform EU asylum procedure with a view to regulating immigration. Ferenc Gertsmar, the party’s spokesman, said the bloc should establish a new institutional system for assessing asylum requests which would serve as the central element of the new procedure.

Another important element of the system would be the establishment of EU hotspots for registering migrants, he said. LMP also supports setting up hotspots outside the EU’s territory with the use of EU funds, EU police and with help from the UN, Gerstmar said. These hotspots would make it possible to separate those who are eligible for asylum from those who are not, he added.

The LMP politician said joint EU action on the migrant crisis is impossible today because so many member states place third-party countries in different categories security-wise. The EU should also work out a uniform method for categorising third-party countries, he said.

Three conservative NGOs, the Hungarian Association for Civic Cooperation, the Alliance of Christian Intellectuals and the Batthyany Society of Professors, urged citizens to participate in the referendum and vote “no”. Gabor Naray-Szabo, president of the Batthyany Society of Professors, said they are campaigning for the “no” vote because it has become clear that migration is not a temporary problem but one that has the potential to determine Europe’s long-term future.

Zoltán Osztie, the president of the Alliance of Christian Intellectuals, said the migrant wave had been “thrust onto” Hungary by certain groups “whose goals are clearly to undermine traditionally Christian societies”. He said solidarity is a Christian value and that Hungary will admit genuine refugees. “But we have to say no to those who have been thrust onto us and who don’t look anything like refugees,” he said.

Judit Petneházy, the deputy head of the Hungarian Association for Civic Cooperation, said the association’s mission is to preserve Hungarian, national and European cultural values.

Photo: MTI

September 18, 2016

Civil groups urge voters to make referendum invalid

Budapest, September 14 (MTI) – Twenty-two civil organisations have launched a campaign urging voters to stay away from the upcoming quota referendum or participate but cast an invalid vote.

“The referendum question does not promote the common cause. It will not provide a solution to the problem of refugees or serve the future of the European Union,” the organisers said in a statement.

According to the document, the referendum question is pointless: the EU has not introduced nor is it planning to introduce mandatory resettlement quotas, and the outcome of the referendum will not have any direct legal consequences.

“The referendum and the accompanying campaign are solely aimed at inciting hatred against refugees,” the statement said adding that the “real” question of the national vote is whether “this country could ever become a humane community”.

The statement was signed by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Migration Aid, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Evangelical Community and other groups.

On October 2, voters will be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of parliament?”

Photo: MTI

September 14, 2016

Amnesty International Hungary launches info-campaign on Oct 2 referendum

Budapest, September 2 (MTI) – Amnesty International (AI) Hungary is launching an information campaign ahead of the Oct. 2 referendum on European Union migrant quotas, the organisation said on Friday.

The aim of the campaign dubbed “learnmoreaboutit” is to better inform Hungarian voters about the referendum, migrants and asylum seekers, AI Hungary said in a statement. “Unlike the government’s xenophobic campaign”, the organisation wants to present an objective and precise picture to those people who really want to know what the referendum is about, it added.

A new blog entry will be posted every week to clear up false information about the subject, answer the most frequently asked questions about refugees and asylum seekers, and analyse the true purpose of the referendum.

Various events are planned, including film screenings, discussions and lessons about human rights in the month ahead. Detailed information is available on the organisation’s website and people will get a chance to ask questions in person, the statement said.

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AI Hungary noted that Hungary sealed its border with Serbia on September 15, 2015, “shutting out people in need of international help”. To mark the anniversary, a street action and public installation is planned on Sept. 15 this year.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/amnestyglobal

September 2, 2016

Two Hungarian MEPs on Soros ‘allies’ list

Budapest (MTI) – Two Hungarian MEPs are included on a list of “reliable allies” of the European Policy Institute linked to Hungarian-born American financer George Soros, online news portal 888.hu reported on Monday.

The portal cited a series of documents linked to Soros which had been leaked through email communications published by WikiLeaks in early August. It was among these leaked documents that the list compiled by the European Policy Institute was found.

The EPI is operated by the Open Society Foundations, which was founded by Soros, the article noted. In the report entitled “Reliable allies in the European Parliament 2014-2020”, Péter Niedermüller of the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) and Tamás Meszerics of opposition LMP were named among the hundreds of “reliable partners” of the above organisations. The list also includes Guy Verhofstadt, currently the head of the EP group for the Liberals.

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888.hu wrote that both Meszerics and Niedermüller are left-wing politicians who “support the European Union’s forced resettlement quotas”. It added that Niedermuller had voted in favour of the Tavares Report, which considered sanctions against Hungary, as well as a proposal to punish countries which do not support the migrant quota system.

Asked to comment on the article, Niedermüller told MTI that 888.hu had “disregarded the facts” as he had not been an MEP at the time the Tavares Report was voted on. He added that it had long been “common knowledge that his DK party has radically different views on European immigration and refugee policies than the Hungarian government”.

Meszerics told MTI that he had met representatives of the Open Society Foundation to discuss several issues, which did not include migration. He added that he found nothing “questionable” about this and that he was proud to be included on such a list, along with more than half of the MEPs of the Greens group.

Photo: MTI

August 23, 2016

Hungarian foreign minister meets US think tank, research institute leaders

Cleveland, July 21 (MTI) – The Hungarian foreign minister held talks with senior officials of influential think tanks and research institutes in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

Péter Szijjártó’s negotiating partners represented, for instance, the McCain Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Freedom House, APCO Worldwide and Georgetown University.

Szijjártó told them that the European Union was facing a historic challenge and the gravest threat of all times as the situation on the continent is “far from normal”.

“If the European Union fails to give up its hypocritical policy and to name and resolve the problems that caused the current situation, it will have to face even more serious troubles,” he said.

Both Brexit and the grave terrorist threats indicate that Europe should change its policies and provide more for the security of the people, Szijjártó said.

“Hungary and its government were only able to give successful responses to the serious challenges as they kept the security of the public in mind,” he said.

Later today, Szijjártó is scheduled to take part in a conference presided by US Secretary of State John Kerry and attended by representatives of the international coalition fighting the Islamic State terrorist organisation.

July 21, 2016

NGOs say 2017 budget boosts inequalities

Budapest (MTI) – Sixteen NGOs have assembled a package of proposals for areas where they think that next year’s budget would further increase social inequalities.

In a statement on Thursday, the NGOs said the budget awards more to those who already have plenty while taking away funds from the disadvantaged.

Over 80 percent of housing support will go to the better-off, according to the NGOs. No measures have been drafted to reduce housing poverty, they added.

The NGOs therefore propose introducing national housing subsidies and building social housing as well as providing money for renovations.

Meanwhile, they noted that households in which two people need daily care must live from state support worth only 70,000 forints (EUR 221) a month, and this is supposed to cover both carers and those receiving care. The NGOs argue the state should spend more money on fees for carers.

Wages for people working in social care, health care and education have fallen behind significantly compared with pay for people — the large majority being men — who have jobs in the security and defence sectors, the statement said, adding that the government does not have a strategy for eliminating inequalities.

Further, there are 27 environmental chapters of the budget which are to be merged and this money will be diverted to activities the large part of which cause damaging pollution, the statement said, adding that the NGOs propose 13 areas where funding could be put towards environmentally and socially sustainable projects.

Finally, they said the general trend abroad is for NGOs to have a greater say when it comes to drafting the budget. In Hungary, however, there is less and less time given over to the views of civil groups in parliament on how public money should be spent.

The package of proposals was drawn up by A Város Mindenkié, az Atlátszó, a Civil Közoktatási Platform, az Energiaklub, Gyerekesély Egyesület, Habitat for Humanity Magyarország, JÓL-LÉT, K-monitor, Költsegvetési Felelősségi Intézet, Lépjunk, hogy léphessenek, Levegő Munkacsoport, Magyar Szegénysegellenes Hálózat, Női Érdek, Oktatói Hálozat, Pedagógusok Demokratikus Szakszervezete and Romaversitas.

May 20, 2016

NGOs turn to public prosecutor over case of man threatening migrants

Budapest, February 19 (MTI) – Human rights organisations have complained that the police have ceased investigating a case of a man who threatened migrants last autumn.

The working group against hate crimes (GYEM) turned to the chief public prosecutor over the case, demanding that the investigation should continue. In their letter, members of GYEM said the 40-year-old man went up to a van on the M1/M7 motorway close to Budapest and insulted the female driver and her passengers, kicking the side of the van and calling on them to get out of the vehicle, otherwise he would throw a hand grenade into their car, according to GYEM’s report.

GYEM said the suspect was originally investigated for vandalism. Since prejudice against migrants was the man’s probable motivation, police should have investigated a crime of violence against members of a community, the working group said.

Members of GYEM include Amnesty International Hungary, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Support Society for Gays and Lesbians, the Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities (NEKI) and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ).

In an unrelated case, police have raised charges against a Romanian man who attempted to smuggle 21 Iraqi nationals to the West in a van from the Serbian-Hungarian border last autumn, a spokesperson for the regional police said on Friday. Szilvia Szabó said the 25-year-old driver had tried to run away when police stopped his van which had Italian plates, but police caught up with him. The incident took place in the early morning hours of September 3 last year. The man has been in pre-trial detention and now police are pressing charges. The police investigator established that the crime of people smuggling took place with the additional charge of mistreating the victims, Szabó said.

Photo: MTI

February 19, 2016

Norway confirms suspension of funding to Hungary lifted

Oslo, December 10 (MTI) – Norway confirmed on Thursday that following a 19-month standoff, it had lifted the suspension of development funds to Hungary through the EEA and Norway Grants scheme.

Norway’s European Affairs Minister Vidar Helgesen told parliament that Hungary has promised not to interfere in the distribution of funds and that accusations of tax evasion had been dropped, Reuters reported.

“Hungarian authorities have now promised to stick to the signed agreements,” Helgesen told Reuters. “There is a message in this for the EU, in that it shows that it’s possible to handle these cases in a principled way,” he added.

On Thursday the Norwegian embassy in Budapest announced on its website that the Financial Mechanism Committee decided to lift the suspension of payments from EEA and Norway Grants to Hungary, thereby resuming the three countries’ support of the economic and social cohesion in Hungary.

Hungarian authorities and donors came to an agreement regarding the control and implementation of the funds in Hungary, the embassy said, adding that the parties had agreed to respect the legal framework for the implementation of the civil society programme in Hungary.

The donors are in dialogue with the Hungarian authorities regarding what can be implemented before the deadlines, the embassy said, adding that limited time available to implement the programmes and projects.

The embassy noted that the majority of the programmes have had payments suspended since May 2014. The civil society programme has not been affected by the suspension.

Norway, and the other two donor states, Iceland and Lichtenstein, partnering in the EEA and Norway Financial Mechanisms supporting countries in the region, had suspended the disbursement of funds after the Hungarian government had moved the implementation and monitoring of the scheme out of the central government administration.

December 11, 2015

Hungary, Norway agree on restarting Norway Grants payments to NGOs

Budapest, December 9 (MTI) – The Norwegian government has agreed with Hungary to restart payments for Hungarian civil organisations under its Norway Grants scheme after suspending them in May 2014, a government official told reporters on Wednesday.

Norway said then that the reason it suspended the disbursement of funds was that the Hungarian government had moved the implementation and monitoring of the scheme out of the central government administration.

Responding to a journalist’s question on the sidelines of a conference, Nandor Csepreghy, parliamentary state secretary at the prime minister’s office, said the announcement was originally scheduled to be made at tomorrow’s government press briefing.

He said the government still believes that there are irregularities in the way certain civil organisations receive funding from the Norway Grants.

December 9, 2015