‘Zero tolerance policy’ for corruption, EU justice commissioner McGrath tells Euronews
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Exclusive: With corruption in Hungary and Spain squarely thrust into the limelight, the EU’s justice chief Michael McGrath spoke to Euronews about fraud across the European Union – warning that without reforms, grafting festers and “takes from valuable public resources”.
European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath told Euronews in exclusive comments that while he does not comment on individual corruption scandals, the policy of the European Union is clear: “We have a zero tolerance policy,” he said.
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“What is most important is that the national authorities, in any given case, are allowed to do their work without any interference, that they follow the evidence and they take the case to its appropriate end point,” McGrath said.
Spain is currently being rocked by a graft scandal involving the ruling Socialist Party, with the party’s Madrid-based headquarters raided on Wednesday and three former party members officially investigated for allegedly attempting to influence police and legal cases.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been Spain's leader since 2018,, has not been directly named in any investigation.
McGrath told Euronews’ Europe Today programme that, broadly speaking, corruption is “insidious”, “takes from valuable public resources” and “undermines public trust in institutions and in democracy itself”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is also in Brussels to speak with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday about unlocking €10 billion frozen due to rule of law issues under the leadership of the former prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Magyar made releasing this money a key pillar of his policy platform that swept him to power at the country’s April parliamentary elections. But the Tisza politician faces a stiff August deadline, and if no compromises are reached with Brussels over accelerating reforms, the funding will be lost.
“We have made a good start in resetting the relations with the Hungarian government,” McGrath said.
“We are there as a Commission to work with them and support them on the path to restoring rule of law and commitment to respecting fundamental rights of all citizens in Hungary.”
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