Hungary’s Magyar heading to Brussels for talks on unlocking EU funds
politico.eu • • world
Key Points:
- Incoming Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar will hold urgent talks in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to unlock billions of euros in frozen EU funds.
- Magyar's Tisza party, which won a supermajority in Hungary's April election, has already initiated discussions with EU officials following a breakthrough in EU-Hungary relations after Budapest dropped its objections to a €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
- The EU has frozen around €18 billion over concerns about democratic backsliding and corruption under former leader Viktor Orbán, while Hungary risks losing €10 billion in post-pandemic recovery funds if conditions are not met by August.
- The European Commission seeks sustained Hungarian alignment on Ukraine policy, including support for sanctions on Russia and Kyiv’s EU accession, alongside progress on rule-of-law issues to fully release the funds.
- Magyar emphasized the urgency of securing the funds quickly, as his government aims to restore ties with the EU and access additional defense financing and relief from fines related to migration disputes.
