Only commitments, but not payments, of the European Union’s Cohesion Fund may be suspended in part or whole on the basis of a decree, Hungary’s Foreign Ministry told MTI on Thursday.
Suspension of commitments is not an “automatic” process and the measure has never been taken against any member state, the ministry said.
European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn said on Wednesday that Hungary could face a suspension of commitments from the Cohesion Fund from next year because of a failure to deal adequately with its fiscal deficits.
The Commission may only recommend such a suspension; the Council takes the decision with a qualified majority, the ministry said. If commitments from the fund are suspended, they are not lost, but transferred later, after the suspension is lifted, it added.