Commission set to approve Hungary’s €10bn in post-pandemic aid

Hungary is on course to receive almost €10 billion in EU recovery funds frozen under Viktor Orbán, after Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government pushed through sweeping rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms.

The European Commission is set to approve almost all of Hungary’s €10 billion allocation from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) later this month, Commission officials have confirmed to Euronews.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who swept to power in a landslide election victory in April, campaigned on a promise to unlock EU funds frozen during Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in office.

In May, Magyar and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to release €16.4 billion that had been withheld over rule-of-law and corruption concerns under Orbán’s government.

Of that total, €10 billion is due from the EU’s post-pandemic RRF, which expires later this year. All payments have to be authorised by the end of November, to be paid before the end of the year.

Hungary announced in late August that it had met the EU’s conditions for payment, despite the substantial delays accumulated under Orbán. The Commission launched a verification process shortly afterwards.

An official familiar with the file, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Commission expects to complete its remaining RRF assessments, including Hungary’s, by the end of November.

In Hungary’s case, the Commission “has not identified major obstacles”, which could mean Budapest receives 100 per cent, or close to it, of the requested amount.

Euronews understands that the assessment could be published as early as next week.

As Euronews reported in May, one of the main ways the Commission helped Budapest meet the funding requirements was by allowing capital injections through investment institutions.

Under Hungary’s revised recovery plan, adopted in August, €3.6 billion – more than a third of the total – was redirected towards capital injections into the Hungarian Development Bank and a newly created, fully state-owned railway company, the Rolling Stock Company.

However, Hungary still had to fulfil 27 so-called “super milestones” and more than 100 other milestones. Parliament amended more than 100 laws over the summer to meet the requirements, most of them concerning judicial independence and the fight against corruption.

The revised National Recovery Plan also includes measures to modernise the country’s energy grid, railways and rental housing stock.

Once the Commission gives a positive recommendation, EU member states must also approve it before payment can follow.

In September, the Commission approved €4.2 billion in frozen cohesion funds for Hungary after Magyar’s government implemented rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms.

A further €2.2 billion remains blocked because conditions related to academic freedom and LGBTI+ rights have not been met. Budapest has yet to submit evidence that those reforms have been delivered.

Euronews has asked the Hungarian government for comment but has not yet received a response.

Source: www.euronews.com