According to the portal, the agreement, the signing of which Magyar had previously announced on Thursday, will open the way to EUR 10.4 billion. In return, the Hungarian government will commit to implementing the so-called great milestones. These include deep judicial reforms that must be implemented before the funds expire in August.
Recovering blocked money from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was one of the pillars of Magyar's election campaign. After taking power, the new prime minister emphasized several times that this was a priority task for his government. The full amount includes EUR 6.5 billion in non-repayable grants and EUR 3.9 billion in loans. Budapest must submit its application by August 31.
Dispute over the full amount of EUR 10.4 billion
Earlier in May, “Politico” reported that The European Commission (EC) signaled to Hungary that there was not enough time to mobilize the entire pool of EUR 10.4 billion. The reason is that individual payments depend on Hungary's prior implementation of specific reforms. For this reason, Brussels proposes that Budapest limit itself only to the subsidy part.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban sees the matter differently. In a conversation with the Hungarian media on Friday, she emphasized that her government does not intend to give up any part of the owed funds. According to her, Budapest demands the full amount allocated to Hungary under the reconstruction mechanism. This position clearly differs from the EC's proposal.
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Rule of law and Ukraine's accession
“Politico”, citing an anonymous diplomatic source, indicates that the issue of the rule of law in Hungary and The Hungarian position on Ukraine's membership in the European Union formally remains separate topics, although they are politically related. These political issues form the background for financial negotiations. According to the portal, Budapest's position on Ukrainian accession came up many times in the Hungarians' talks with von der Leyen and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
Last week, the Hungarian government initiated talks with Kiev at the expert level. They are supposed to solve issues related to the Hungarian minority living in Ukrainian Transcarpathia. The head of the Hungarian government pointed out this problem immediately after winning the elections. Resolving the dispute with Kiev may make it easier for Budapest to conduct broader negotiations with Brussels.
The rejected SAFE proposal weakens Budapest
On Saturday, the head of Hungarian diplomacy additionally announced that the European Commission refused to grant Hungary a loan worth EUR 16 billion under the EU SAFE defense investment program. This decision weakens Budapest's negotiating position vis-à-vis Brussels also regarding the RRF, as it limits Hungary's access to alternative sources of EU financing. “Therefore, we inevitably have to postpone this matter,” Orban said. The Commission's decision means that plans related to this instrument have been suspended.
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Talks with De Wever and Rutte about NATO
During his visit to the capital of Belgium, the Hungarian Prime Minister also plans to hold talks with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever, and the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte. In an interview for RTL television, Magyar announced that his goal is to rebuild weakened relations with the North Atlantic Alliance.
