EU lawmakers see train with ties to Hungary’s prime minster

ALCSUTDOBOZ, Hungary – Members of the European Parliament committee that oversees the EU’s budget have visited a three-station railroad that links three Hungarian villages and has close ties to the country’s prime minister.

Committee members led by chairwoman Inge Grassle are reviewing EU-funded projects in Hungary. On Tuesday, they rode the railroad’s full route between Alcsutdoboz, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s birthplace, and neighbouring Felcsut, where Orban grew up and has a house.

The project received 600 million forints ($2.3 million) from the EU. A soccer academy founded by Orban financed the rest of the cost, about 857 million forints ($3.33 million.)

Orban’s critics say the railroad is a vanity project with no practical use. Viktor Szigetvari of the opposition Egyutt (Together) party says Orban used EU funds to build a “Disneyland” in his hometown.