Biggest chunk of EU’s aid for Hungarian tourism spent on an online portal
Almost a third of about €4.8 million of EU support last year meant for Hungary’s battered tourism sector was spent on an online tourist portal.
An opposition MEP is planning to turn to the bloc’s anti-fraud agency, Telex reported via 24.hu.
The EU provided €4.8 million (HUF 1.7 billion) to help restore Hungarian tourism last year, after the coronavirus outbreak hit the sector, with a series of companies going bankrupt.
According to 24.hu, the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ) distributed the funds, and the state agency allegedly transferred more than a third of the amount to its own company, Hellohungary Turisztikai Szolgáltató Kft.
According to a report sent to the EU, the company, founded in December 2020, received €1.7 million (HUF 630 million) for newspaper publishing.
However, the company’s managing director, Gábor Lénárd, told 24.hu that the money is not actually being used for newspaper publishing, but to create an online tourism portal, which is to be launched by the end of March.
Hellohungary is owned by the Hungarian Tourism Association Foundation, which reportedly has strong ties to the state-owned MTÜ. The foundation’s first sponsor and key partner is the tourism agency, headed by Péter Gábor Princzinger, formerly a senior executive at the MTÜ, and its board of trustees includes László Könnyid, currently deputy CEO of the MTÜ.
The rest of the money was given to winegrowers in Balaton and luxury restaurants in Budapest. Additionally, according to the report sent to the EU, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, which allegedly has ties to PM Viktor Orbán’s daughter, Ráhel Orbán, also received funding.
However, the exact amount was not disclosed to the European Union by the MTÜ, nor was it sent to 24.hu. The Hungarian Tourism Agency has helped 23 companies and individual entrepreneurs with EU funds.
“I am asking [the EU anti-graft agency] OLAF for an official investigation into the EU funding of the MTÜ,” social democrat MEP Újhelyi István wrote on Facebook in reaction to the news.
The EU provided €4.8 million (HUF 1.7 billion) to help restore Hungarian tourism last year, after the coronavirus outbreak hit the sector, with a series of companies going bankrupt.
According to 24.hu, the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ) distributed the funds, and the state agency allegedly transferred more than a third of the amount to its own company, Hellohungary Turisztikai Szolgáltató Kft.
According to a report sent to the EU, the company, founded in December 2020, received €1.7 million (HUF 630 million) for newspaper publishing.
However, the company’s managing director, Gábor Lénárd, told 24.hu that the money is not actually being used for newspaper publishing, but to create an online tourism portal, which is to be launched by the end of March.
Hellohungary is owned by the Hungarian Tourism Association Foundation, which reportedly has strong ties to the state-owned MTÜ. The foundation’s first sponsor and key partner is the tourism agency, headed by Péter Gábor Princzinger, formerly a senior executive at the MTÜ, and its board of trustees includes László Könnyid, currently deputy CEO of the MTÜ.
The rest of the money was given to winegrowers in Balaton and luxury restaurants in Budapest. Additionally, according to the report sent to the EU, the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, which allegedly has ties to PM Viktor Orbán’s daughter, Ráhel Orbán, also received funding.
However, the exact amount was not disclosed to the European Union by the MTÜ, nor was it sent to 24.hu. The Hungarian Tourism Agency has helped 23 companies and individual entrepreneurs with EU funds.
“I am asking [the EU anti-graft agency] OLAF for an official investigation into the EU funding of the MTÜ,” social democrat MEP Újhelyi István wrote on Facebook in reaction to the news.
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