EU Commissioner Michael McGrath: ‘We need to have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption in the EU”

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]We're following here in Brussels that story in Spain uh very carefully.

[00:00:03]Spanish people are shocked. As the Commissioner for Democracy and Rule of Law, what is your reaction to this kind of scandal?

[00:00:08]>> Well, clearly we don't comment on individual cases, but the policy of the European Commission uh towards corruption is very clear. We have to have a zero tolerance policy across the European Union. What is most important is that the national authorities uh in any given case are allowed to do their work uh without any interference, uh that they follow the evidence, and they take the case to its appropriate end point. Uh we have recently reached agreement on a new anti-corruption directive in the European Union. Uh so, that will be transposed in the next couple of years, which harmonizes uh the definition of corruption offenses, uh and also harmonizes penalties. Um the reality is that corruption is insidious. Uh it takes from valuable public resources, and it fundamentally undermines public trust in institutions and in democracy itself. So, it's crucial that all member states uh tackle it, and we deal with it in the rule of law report that >> Especially this issue, one of the investigations is actually about alleged attempts from the Socialist Party to sabotage or obstruct judicial investigations. So, it's a very serious matter you're dealing with here that could impact indeed public people's public trust in institutions.

[00:01:20]>> Yeah, as I said, the case itself I don't don't have the details, nor should I, and it will take its normal course. Um but every year we do an annual rule of law report, uh which will be published now in July of this year. It looks at every single country of the European Union across a number of headings, including uh under the heading of corruption, and examines the country's track record of investigating, prosecuting, and securing convictions in respect of corruption cases, particularly high-level corruption cases, because of course the more senior the level, uh then the more serious the damage is done uh to public trust and indeed to the institutions themselves.

[00:01:59]>> And let's talk about Hungary. The Victor Orban era is over. Peter Magyar is in Brussels for talks. Will he get those billions of funds back, do you think?

[00:02:09]>> So, the Prime Minister will be meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission President, tomorrow. We have made a good start in resetting the relations with the Hungarian government.

[00:02:20]We are there as a Commission to work with them and support them on the path to restoring rule of law and commitment to respecting fundamental rights of all citizens in Hungary.

[00:02:33]>> Sounds like they're not ready then. Are they ready then? Sounds like from what you're saying, they're not ready.

[00:02:36]>> Discussions are ongoing. I will be visiting Budapest next week and I'll be meeting with the new Hungarian Justice Minister again to agree on the reforms and look at the progress that they intend to make over the months ahead.

[00:02:50]And we are there to work with them and support them.

[00:02:52]>> the meeting between Ursula von der Leyen and Peter Magyar?

[00:02:56]>> I'm not sure there was mystery or confusion, but these things often are only nailed down quite quite late on.

[00:03:03]That's the reality given schedules and timetables.

[00:03:06]I don't know the detail of their engagement, but the important thing is that they will meet and they will continue the substantive discussions on the issue at hand and that is about how the European Commission can support the new Hungarian government in their efforts to restore rule of law in Hungary and ensure that the necessary reforms can be implemented. So, we will support them and so far they have demonstrated a very clear and steadfast commitment on this path, which will help to serve the best interests of the Hungarian citizens at the end of the day.

[00:03:37]>> And just back on your file when it comes to tech, etc., you'll be coming out soon with a proposal to wean off our dependency on big US tech, promote our own homegrown cloud technology, etc. Can you confirm this plan?

[00:03:50]>> So, this will be led by my colleague, the Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen. It is a tech sovereignty package and it is consistent with the overall policy direction that the European Union is currently taking. It needs to be seen alongside all of the other measures that we have brought forward so far in this commission in the last 18 months designed to improve our competitiveness. Yes, have a focus on strategic autonomy, but at a time when there is so much upheaval, geopolitical uncertainty and indeed economic volatility, we do need to make sure that on key strategic issues that the European Union is supporting its indigenous industries and that we have access to the critical services and indeed materials that we need.

[00:04:35]>> Okay, Commissioner Michael McGrath, thank you so much for joining us here this morning on Europe today.