Government asks to see EY report on EEA Grants

Int’l Relations

The government has asked professional-services company EY (formerly known as Ernst and Young) for permission to examine a report it prepared regarding the distribution of EEA Grant funding, provided by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, for the period 2008-2010, Prime Minister's Office Deputy State Secretary Nádor Csepreghy announced today.

Csepreghy said the EY report could help confirm the government's suspicion that the organizations distributing EEA Grants were politically biased.

Government critics have said that official attacks on the so-called "Norway Grants" are aimed at NGOs that promote democracy but sometimes find themselves in opposition to the government.

Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein provide the EEA grants to countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

EY told Hungarian news agency MTI that the company never comments on issues related to its clients pursuant to strict internal company regulations designed to protect confidential information.

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