The Commission will propose on Wednesday (22 February) to suspend a share of Hungary's Cohesion Funds over its failure to take "effective action" to curb its excessive deficit.
The suspension will take effect from 1 January 2013, EurActiv Slovakia reported, quoting EU sources.
Commission spokespeople contacted by EurActiv.com in Brussels did not contest the information.
Last month, Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Hungary was the sole country on the Commission’s excessive deficit ‘caution list’ and warned that cohesion funds could be frozen if Budapest fails to trim its deficit.
Amadeu Altafaj, Commission spokesperson for economic affairs, told EurActiv that the Cohesion Fund regulation allows a partial or total suspension of regional money committed as of the following year (in this case, 2013). He mentioned no figures, but stressed that according to EU legislation, the sanction has to be "proportionate".
If decided, this will be the first time that this provision is used, Altafaj said. He explained that since the entry into force of the 'six-pack' of economic legislation in December, the EU executive has "a wider and fairer scope for sanctions for countries that deviate from prudent fiscal policies".
The 'six-pack' can sanction countries with a fine worth 0.2% of their GDP (see background). In November, Belgian news media warned of a possible fine of €708 million for Belgium, a threat that was averted after the country finally succeeded to put in place a government and an austerity programme.
But Altafaj insisted that Hungary has still plenty of time before to bring its deficit back on track and avoid sanctions, which he said was precisely the aim of the 'six-pack' – "anticipate surveillance and effective, credible enforcement that can dissuade, rather than the punishment in itself".
In November, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán requested 'precautionary aid' from the EU and the International Monetary Fund as "a kind of insurance policy" against possible future financing difficulties.
But Hungary severely strained its relations with the IMF last year, when Budapest rejected demands for tough measures to keep the budget deficit on target.
Moreover, Hungary is under the Commission scrutiny and may face infringement procedures, after Budapest passed controversial state reforms that are widely seen as undemocratic.
On 17 February, the Hungarian authorities provided written replies to the Commission request for amendments to be made to Hungarian laws. No further details were made available.
