Its efforts so far haven’t hit the mark. Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin said that Hungary’s moves to unblock the funding are “not quite what we were hoping for” after a meeting on Tuesday with János Bóka, Hungary’s European affairs minister.
Reforms Hungary needs to complete to convince the EU to release the funding include changes to its anti-corruption and conflict-of-interest legislation.
Any country is given two years to claim back funding that was withheld by the Commission, according to the EU’s own rules. Hungary is at risk of permanently losing a share of regional cash from the 2022 budget, which is worth more than €1 billion.
“That’s a lot of money for any country, but especially for Hungary,” said an EU diplomat who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive discussions.
The potential funding cut comes at a difficult time for Orbán, who will soon end his six-month stint as the head of the EU’s rotating Council presidency, a role which allows him to set the agenda and chair meetings in Brussels.
Economic growth in Hungary is well below the EU’s average, while its government deficit as a proportion of GDP (5.4 percent this year) is among the highest in the bloc.