Now that Hungary is hosting the fifth summit of the European Political Community, we felt it our duty to showcase the country's attractions - not only the beautiful capital but also the developments across the countryside made possible thanks to the taxpayers of the European Union. So we updated our popular map of messed up EU projects, an alternative tourist guide to good governance in Hungary.

Since our last post, a wave of new EU funded investments has rolled in—ones that, if they’d never happened, might’ve done the Hungarian countryside a big favor. A more accurate statement, however, would be that unfortunately, there has been a considerable rise in projects whose proper use could have brought significant development to our towns and the lives of our communities, but self-interest and corruption have hindered this progress.

For example, it would be wonderful if the canopy walkway in Nyírmártonfalva had real tourist appeal, attracting visitors simply due to its unique elevated perspective, which could be a rarity on the Great Plain. Instead, it will stand unused for years in the middle of nowhere, as the trees surrounding the walkway were cut down during its construction—since the presence of trees around the walkway was not a requirement of the grant. Or imagine how much the quality of life for locals in Békés would improve if EU funds had been used wisely to finally solve the drainage issues—instead, after a medium rainfall, the town's puddles could host a pool party. Or think of the active recreation it could offer locals if the adventure park in Hatvan, built for 350,000 euros, was in operation. And who could really blame the mayor of Bácsszőlős for letting his brother-in-law move into the EU-funded service apartment for doctors? He has a point: there are indeed no doctors left in Hungary, so they don’t really need service apartments—it would be a shame if the house went unused.

Many investments were realized because, under the logic of 'easy money,' there is often little concept behind rural development projects and the authorities do not properly monitor the execution of these projects. After completion, they are either not maintained, closed down, or, in some cases, simply dismantled. Under pressure from the European Union, the Integrity Authority was established to ensure the transparent management of EU funds, leading to an increasing number of investigations and recovery initiatives. However, the mismanagement of state and EU funds, just as systemic corruption remains a structural problem in Hungary.

K-Monitor’s map of 54 sites does not attempt to show all the controversial investments – their aim is to share a collection of memorable cases uncovered by independent media, civil society and a few opposition politicians.

The map was created as a project of K-Monitor – Watchdog for Public Funds, based on a database of more than 50.000 Hungarian articles about the use and misuse of the public money.