EU’s unblocked €16.4bn funds: Hungary premier

Brussels: Hungarian PM Péter Magyar sealed a deal on Friday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to unblock nearly all recovery and cohesion funds earmarked for Hungary, allowing the government to access the full €16.4 billion frozen under the previous administration.

Praising Magyar for forming a government “in record time” and advancing what she described as “long-overdue reforms” within a few weeks, von der Leyen said €10 billion would be released from the EU’s post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility. “I think the hard work has really paid off now,” she added.

She announced the release of €4.2 billion in cohesion funds, along with a further €2.2 billion from a separate tranche within the same cohesion funding envelope.

Magyar won April’s general election, bringing an end to Orbán’s 16-year rule. 

The funds were suspended by Brussels during Orbán’s tenure over concerns related to corruption and the rule of law. Hungary must still meet a set of conditions, kno­wn as super-milestones, to complete the release. –Agencies

Three weeks was enough to do what Viktor Orbán could not achieve in three years. We fought for the full amount. 

Péter Magyar