Some infringement proceedings likely be put before court, says Orban

Some of the European Union's ongoing infringement proceedings against Hungary will most probably be put before the European Court, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Brussels lecture on Monday.

Orban, who is scheduled to meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday, said Hungary continued to have a dispute with the European Commission on data protection institutions, the salary of the central bank's governor and the retirement of judges, issues that might easily end up at the Luxembourg court.

He added, however, that the Hungarian government had come to an agreement with the EC and made some corrections on several contested issues during the infringement proceedings.

Asked about his forthcoming meeting with Barroso, Orban said they would survey the unresolved issues and separate "those without a hope for compromise from those in which it still makes sense seeking one".

Concerning talks with the International Monetary Fund, Orban said that Hungary only wanted to secure a financial guarantee. He said that while the country was applying for a safety net, the IMF was to offer a loan. He argued that having financial guarantees from the IMF/EU would facilitate cheaper financing of Hungary's public debt, and delaying the start of negotiations was harmful for the country.

Orban said that Hungary was prepared to quickly agree on that safety net at any time. If the agreement had depended on Hungary, it would already have been concluded, Orban told reporters after the lecture. He called it unfair and a sign of double standards that the international financial organisations had set preconditions only for Hungary. For instance, Egypt, which initiated cooperation with them simultaneously with Hungary, had already got access to funding, he noted.

Concerning the conditions, Orban said that Hungary's central bank law no longer violated the bank's independence and the norms protected by the European Commission. He added, however, that some technicalities were still being negotiated.