Hungary leader grapples with EU as corruption concerns rise

Hungary leader grapples with EU as corruption concerns riseBUDAPEST, Hungary – As the Hungarian prime minister's conflicts with the European Union appear headed to a breaking point, calls are increasing for greater scrutiny of his government's spending of the bloc's funds. An opposition lawmaker in Hungary has gathered more than 470,000 signatures to pressure Prime Minister Viktor Orban into joining the budding European Public Prosecutor's Office as Orban's Fidesz party may be suspended or expelled this coming week from the main center-right group in the European Parliament. The EU has allocated Hungary 25 billion euros ($28.3 billion) in the 2014-2020 budget period, but critics say funds are often spent on overpriced or unnecessary projects padding the pockets of the allies of Orban, whose anti-EU campaigns over migration policies and national sovereignty have gotten him into trouble with European People's Party.