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Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Tuesday he hopes to sign a political agreement with the European Commission “next week” on the release of EU funds that had been frozen during the previous government.
“Both sides will do everything they can to ensure that next week, when I travel to Brussels, we can sign the political agreement between the Hungarian government and the European Commission, which will allow us to conclude all issues by August 31, despite the hard work and work throughout the summer,” Magyar told reporters at a press conference on Monday evening in Budapest.
“And these many trillions of forints will then arrive in Hungary on schedule, quickly, but on schedule, during the fall,” he added.
Hungary risks losing €10.4bn in recovery funding if it fails to meet the August 31 deadline to unlock the money. The funds had been blocked due to rule-of-law concerns under the Orbán government.Magyar — who is expected to travel to Brussels the following Monday — said technical-level discussions with the European Commission were underway and would continue in the Hungarian capital through Friday.
“The August 31 deadline may not seem like such a short time, but there is a lot to do. Not only do we have to amend and agree on laws, but we also have to transform institutional systems,” Magyar told reporters.
Magyar also said he had exchanged letters with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding outstanding issues. He added that his government would reject some Commission demands related to the phasing out of windfall taxes on the financial and energy sectors.
“There are requests from the Commission regarding the Hungarian budget, which we will not fulfil. Sometimes, by the way, these requests contradict each other. One day they expect us to stabilise the budget, and then they also tell us to phase out some taxes,” Magyar said.
The new Hungarian government is also expected to submit a revised spending plan for the recovery funds before the end of May. Magyar said the previous programme was currently under review, with priority given to projects considered both feasible and genuinely beneficial to the public.
“We obviously want suburban trains, railway renovation, energy-related projects and electricity grid development. Those must be truly useful for Hungarian society and Hungarian companies,” he said.
Magyar also announced that his government was reviewing Hungary’s defence loan request under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, the bloc’s main financial instrument for supporting defence preparedness across the European Union.
The previous Orbán government had requested €16bn for defence projects — the highest per-capita amount among SAFE recipients. Magyar said the Orbán government’s intention had been “to put the Hungarian people in debt to fill their crony companies with cash.”