Hungary begins inspections of Chinese company BYD, where former Foreign Minister Szijjártó found a job

Hungary has begun an investigation into state subsidies, tax breaks and other preferences granted to Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD when former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó joined the company.

Euronews writes about this.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar reported the start of the investigation. According to him, the authorities will review all decisions, negotiations and state obligations related to BYDʼs investments in Hungary and analyze how subsidies, tax breaks and permits were provided to large international companies during the time of Viktor Orbánʼs government.

Szijjártó left his post as minister after the change of government in May and announced that he had received a “prestigious offer” from BYD. He became the company’s head of external relations and new business development.

The government suspects a possible conflict of interest, as Szijjártó, when he was still a minister, was responsible for attracting foreign investment and participated in negotiations to build BYDʼs first European factory in the city of Szeged. The enterprise will allow the Chinese company to produce electric cars in the EU and avoid European tariffs on electric cars imported from China.

Transparency International Hungary said the situation was a classic example of senior officials moving from government positions to management positions in companies they previously represented or supported, warning that it could increase BYDʼs influence over future decisions by the Hungarian government.

At the same time, there is no legal requirement in Hungary that would prohibit former ministers from immediately moving to work for companies with which they interacted while in office, after resigning.

• Péter Szijjártó was Hungaryʼs foreign minister under Viktor Orbán. He resigned from his parliamentary seat after the “Fidesz” partyʼs defeat in the April elections.
• Previously, Hungarian investigative journalists published recordings of conversations between Szijjarto and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, which suggested that Szijjarto had coordinated with Russia actions against the interests of Ukraine and the EU. In July, Hungary began investigating the former foreign ministerʼs ties to Russia. Szijjarto himself denies all the allegations.

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