The EU to release billions of winter funds to Hungary for the Magyar reform | European Union news

PM Peter Magyar called the deal to unlock funds saved under former leader Orban a “historic” success.

The European Union has announced that it will open up 16.4 billion euros ($19bn) to Hungary in a major victory for the new Prime Minister, Peter Hungarian.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday that the bloc was ready to release the funds that were frozen when Viktor Orban came to power.

During Orban’s tenure, the EU froze nearly 18 billion euros ($21bn) in funding from Budapest due to backsliding on democracy, corruption and tackling LGBTQ issues.

Von der Leyen told reporters that the EU will open 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) from the recovery fund, called Next Generation EU, and 4.2 billion euros ($4.8bn) in joint funds, and 2.2 billion euros ($2.5bn) as the reforms are completed.

“This is a lot of money, but … the Hungarian people deserve it. Again, thank you very much for the good work done,” he told reporters after speaking with Magyar in Brussels.

“We can feel the strong winds of change all over Hungary.”

“In just a few weeks, you (Magyar) have carried out long-term reforms,” ​​he added.

Magyar, whose party has a majority in parliament, has begun early reforms and on Wednesday voted to abandon Orban’s plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

In a reversal from last year when the event was banned under Orban, police said on Friday they would not ban next month’s Pride in Budapest.

Magyar described the release of the currency as a “historic day”, saying that he had “fought for every cent”.

“We will bring this money home, as we promised, to rebuild Hungary, jump-start the economy, restore and improve human services, and strengthen the competitiveness of Hungarian companies and small and medium-sized enterprises,” Magyar told reporters.

The prime minister, who won last month’s election in April after promising EU funding, said EU funding is about 13 percent of Hungary’s budget.

Most of the frozen funds come from the EU’s COVID recovery fund, and Hungary has until the end of August to present a new protection plan.

EU officials have said that if all steps are completed on time, Budapest can expect the first disbursement of funds before the end of the year.