Mayor Karácsony discussed the direct EU funding of Budapest with von der Leyen

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg on Tuesday and thanked her for standing up for the Budapest Pride event; they also discussed the matter of EU funding for Budapest.

After the meeting, Karácsony said on Facebook: “No matter which way the government turns, Budapest will stay in Europe.”

Karácsony said he had thanked von der Leyen for standing by the Budapest Pride march held on June 28. “The president of the European Commission agreed that Budapest held a true celebration of freedom and showed its strength and stood by its principles and values,” he said. “Budapest Pride, the failure to ban it and Budapest’s stance for freedom” will be tabled in the European Parliament on Wednesday, he said.

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Direct EU funding of Budapest on the horizon?

Karácsony and von der Leyen also discussed EU funding for Budapest. Karácsony said the government was turning the lack of resources due to the rule-of-law procedure against the capital, “Budapest is probably the only capital without a single signed grant contract.” He said he presented a proposal to von der Leyen on channelling suspended funding directly to cities.

“It was clear that the European Commission is closely monitoring the developments in Hungary, the government policy systematically dismantling European values,” he said.

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European metropolises, including Budapest, “often represent European values more consistently than national governments, and have become islands of the rule of law”, he added. “That trend is one of the reasons why rule-of-law reports and country-specific recommendations should also review the situation of municipalities,” Karácsony said.

Suspending EU funds “only tool EU can use against member”, says Karácsony

Suspending EU funds is “perhaps the only tool the EU could use against a member state, but it is also a double-edged sword as it could also turn citizens against the EU,” Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony said in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference in the European Parliament, Karácsony said the Hungarian government’s policies dismantling the rule of law had led to a suspension of the vast majority of EU funds, which not only endangers the government, but also the goals that these funds would serve. Municipalities are hit especially hard by this since the Hungarian government shifts the consequences of resource withdrawal to the local level. “As a result, Budapest currently does not have any funding contracts,” he added.

Karácsony said the Budapest municipality was under constant attack by the government, one of the main tools being the withdrawal of funds. “The situation is so grave that we have to make serious efforts to ensure that Budapest survives financially,” he said. While the Hungarian government “goes against European values,” he said, it can still access certain EU funds, whereas local municipalities are completely excluded from these.

Direct access to EU funds

Therefore, the mayor suggested that European decision-makers should create mechanisms that provide direct access to EU funds for businesses, municipalities and NGOs. In this way, the “punishment” would hit the national governments, not local actors, he said.

“I am aware that this is a complicated matter, with complex regulations – and I know it requires courage. That is why I am turning to you, European decision-makers: be as brave as the citizens of Budapest, who took to the streets despite a ban and threats,” Karácsony said, referring to the Budapest Pride march held ten days earlier.

In recent days, Karácsony also met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, with whom he shared the city’s problems. Most of these, he said, stemmed from the fact that local governments were “both pillars of democracy and obstacles to those who want to seize power in an autocratic way”.

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