'EU is drowning in corruption,' claims Hungarian premier

ISTANBUL

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed on Friday that the European Union is "drowning in corruption," as an investigation into suspected fraud involving EU-funded training for junior diplomats continues.

"The EU is drowning in corruption. Commissioners face serious charges, the Commission and the Parliament are engulfed in scandal, yet Brussels still claims the moral high ground," Orban said in a post on US social media company X.

His statement came after former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, a senior staff member of the College of Europe in Bruges, and a senior European Commission official were detained by the Belgian Federal Judicial Police on Tuesday at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).

The EPPO said the investigation was looking into whether confidential selection criteria for the EU Diplomatic Academy, a nine-month training program for junior diplomats awarded to the College of Europe in 2021-2022, were improperly shared before the tender was officially published.

"Corruption in Ukraine should be called out by the EU, but once again it's the same old story: Brussels and Kyiv shielding each other instead of confronting the truth," Orban also wrote.

Last month, Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector that involved siphoning off at least $100 million, particularly involving state-owned nuclear energy provider Energoatom, which has led to high-profile resignations, including the energy minister and chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A crackdown on corruption is critical if Ukraine hopes to advance its application to join the EU, which formally opened accession negotiations with Kyiv in June 2024.