Peter Magyar will meet the head of the European Commission. It's about frozen billions of euros
The future Prime Minister of Hungary, Peter Magyar, will meet the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday in Brussels. They will discuss the changes Budapest must make to unlock EUR 17 billion in EU funds frozen due to concerns about the rule of law under the outgoing government of Viktor Orban. These are important reforms that can increase Hungary's credibility in the eyes of the EU.
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Hungary may lose EUR 10 billion as early as August
— The meeting will focus fully on how to make progress in unlocking EU funds intended for Hungary. […] We want to work with the new Hungarian government in a structured and focused way to ensure that all necessary actions are taken at the earliest possible stage so that the Hungarian people for whom these funds are intended can benefit from them as quickly as possible, European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said at a press briefing on Monday.
Hungary under Viktor Orban's government lost access to approximately EUR 17 billion, which is almost 10 percent. the country's annual GDP. EUR 10 billion comes from the reconstruction fund launched after the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline for spending this money expires in August – if it is not used by then, it will be lost forever. The remaining EUR 7 billion are funds from the seven-year EU budget intended for regional development. The current EU multiannual financial perspective ends in 2027.
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The European Commission has made unblocking Hungary's access to money conditional on reforms, including: guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and fighting corruption.
Representatives of both parties have already met twice since Magyar's party won the election on April 12, which gave it a two-thirds constitutional majority in parliament.
