Economy
Hungary wants access to EY report on Norway grants
Nándor Csepreghy, deputy state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office in charge of development policy communication, told a press conference in Budapest today that according to press reports, the Financial Mechanism Office (FMO), which co-ordinates and supervises the EEA Grants and Norway Grants in Brussels, had previously requested an investigation from EY (formerly Ernst & Young).
The EEA Grants and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reducing economic and social disparities and to strengthening bilateral relations with 16 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe.
Csepreghy said that the EY report confirms the Hungarian government’s objections to the operation of non-governmental organisations that help distribute Norwegian grants. The cabinet argued that the independence of the committees evaluating the applications is not ensured; the winners were chosen by the consortium from “their own ranks"; meddled with the scores after closing the tenders without any specific justification and applicants with lower scores won, while those with higher scores did not get grants.
He added that if the press reports gain validation, the Hungarian government will have no other option but to file criminal charges, as the information published in the press indicate a crime.
EY told state-owned newswire MTI today that it does not comment on issues affecting its clients and publishes no related information whatsoever to protect confidential business information.
The EEA Grants and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reducing economic and social disparities and to strengthening bilateral relations with 16 EU countries in Central and Southern Europe.
Csepreghy said that the EY report confirms the Hungarian government’s objections to the operation of non-governmental organisations that help distribute Norwegian grants. The cabinet argued that the independence of the committees evaluating the applications is not ensured; the winners were chosen by the consortium from “their own ranks"; meddled with the scores after closing the tenders without any specific justification and applicants with lower scores won, while those with higher scores did not get grants.
He added that if the press reports gain validation, the Hungarian government will have no other option but to file criminal charges, as the information published in the press indicate a crime.
EY told state-owned newswire MTI today that it does not comment on issues affecting its clients and publishes no related information whatsoever to protect confidential business information.
