Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000635/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Sophie Wilmès (Renew), Isabel Wiseler-Lima (PPE), Michał Wawrykiewicz (PPE), Alessandro Zan (S&D), Chloé Ridel (S&D), Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová (Renew), Alice Kuhnke (Verts/ALE), Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE), Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left)
One of the 27 ‘super milestones’ laid down in Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan in 2022 called for the establishment of an integrity authority. This measure is one of the corrective actions proposed by Hungary under the conditionality framework and is aimed at ‘reinforcing prevention, detection and correction of illegalities and irregularities concerning the implementation of Union funds’. Hungary’s Integrity Authority was set up at the end of 2022.
In January 2023, media reports revealed that searches were being carried out, focusing on the President of the Integrity Authority, Ferenc Pál Biró, who faces accusations of embezzlement and the abuse of power. While respecting the judicial process, I am concerned about the potential consequences of the ongoing investigation for the functioning of the Authority.
In this regard:
- 1.Is the Commission following the recent developments regarding the Integrity Authority in Hungary?
- 2.Can the Commission confirm whether, despite the ongoing investigations, the Integrity Authority is in a position to continue its activities effectively?
- 3.What measures are being considered by the Commission to ensure that this does not negatively affect the protection of the Union’s budget in the event of an interruption of the Authority’s work?
Submitted: 11.2.2025