Orbán Has Implemented Thousands Of Pointless Projects With EU Funds
27- 11.04.2026, 21:55
- 24,606
CNN cited examples.
In the west of Hungary there is a roundabout in the middle of fields. It is a €1.5 million roundabout built with EU funds. A logistics terminal and railroad were never brought in, although the government of Viktor Orban promised to do so when it received funds for the project, CNN writes (translated by Unian).
Work on the traffic circle began during the current EU budget period, which runs through 2027. The traffic circle was planned to help serve a container terminal on the new rail line. And the railroad, in turn, was to help transport goods from the Adriatic coast across Central Europe. A ceremony to begin construction of the railroad was held back in 2021 with the participation of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjárt, but over the years, railroad tracks have never been laid there.
- Years after the interchange was built, there is still no railroad. Instead, the traffic circle lies unused in a field, waiting for the Hungarian government to build a railroad that will make it useful," the article said.
Critics of Viktor Orbán call the project a symbol of the economic system built by the current government. They say Orban has both demonized the EU and accepted funds from it to finance dubious projects.
- Much of the money has come from initiatives aimed at helping the poorer, newer members of the bloc, many of whom were once part of the Warsaw Pact. With these funds, they should catch up with their richer neighbors," the author writes.
The traffic circle near Zalaegerszeg, first reported by the Hungarian investigative website Atlatszo, is one of tens of thousands of projects in Hungary that have received EU funding since Viktor Orbán came to power. Tibor Navracsis, the regional development minister, told Hungary's parliament last year that the EU had funded 52,000 projects in the country during the 2014-2020 budget period.
Director of the Budapest Corruption Research Center Istvan Janos Toth told CNN that the traffic circle is a prime example of a "white elephant" - a construction project that is expensive to build and often expensive to maintain, but of no value.
The traffic circle near Zalaegerszeg is not the only unfinished or useless project in Hungary that has received EU funding. Others include funding for the development of forests that don't actually exist in places identified by the projects, or a 1-meter-high "observation tower" for tourists.
"Critics claim," the journalists wrote, "that Hungary is dotted with such projects, which are often funded by the same institution Orbán opposes. The publication also cited data from the anti-corruption organization Transparency International, which found Hungary to be the most corrupt country in the EU.
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