Hungary lost ten million euros in European grants

Hungary has not been able to agree with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein to distribute EUR 220 million of European Economic Area (EEA) grants and will therefore not receive this funding. This was announced on Friday by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by the DPA. Norway and, to a much lesser extent, Liechtenstein and Iceland, through the "EEA and Norway Grants" program, support projects in the Member States of the Union aimed at addressing economic and social disparities, according to euronews.com. "I note that we have not reached an agreement after a long and comprehensive process," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Söreid. "In our opinion, EEA finance could play an important role in Hungary, especially in supporting civil society, but also in supporting economic, energy and climate innovation and in promoting minority rights," she added. The donor countries have made the provision of funding conditional on their redistribution being carried out in each beneficiary country by an independent administrator. "Hungary (agreed to this condition), but refused to commit to appointing the most qualified candidate," the Norwegian Ministry of Diplomacy said in a statement. Approximately € 10 million was originally earmarked for civil society in Hungary. The Hungarian government provoked a wave of outrage when it passed a controversial law in mid-June that critics say discriminates against sexual minorities, the DPA said. The European Commission, which considers the law to be homophobic and discriminatory against the LGBTQI + community, launched legal action against Hungary last week. The law on protection against pedophilia, which was unanimously approved by the Hungarian parliament on 15 June, was extended by various amendments to ban the so-called promotion of sexual minorities among young people. The law stipulates that young people under the age of 18 may not be exposed to "pornographic content" or any content that, according to the Hungarian government, "promotes gender reassignment and homosexuality" in schools, films or advertising. Hungary has severely restricted LGBT rights in recent years, for example by banning same-sex adoptions, and in December 2020, Parliament amended the Hungarian constitution to introduce a new definition of family as "the union of a father who is a man and a mother who is a woman". During his 11-year rule, Orbán also made it impossible to change his gender legally.