Opposition MEP accuses Orbán government of neglecting EU funding, warns of potential losses exceeding EUR 2.5 billion

The government has neglected to secure EU funding for Hungary for almost two years by now, Democratic Coalition (DK) MEP Klára Dobrev told an online press briefing on Tuesday, noting she has written to EU budget commissioner Johannes Hahn to ask “what the Orban government” had and hadn’t done to make sure Hungarians “receive the money they are entitled to”.

Quoting a European Commission report, she said Hungary had failed to fulfil the 27 “milestones” it had previously committed to, “so not a single payment request can be paid out right now”.

Hungary, she added, was at risk of losing about HUF 400 billion in 64 days’ time should Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “continue to play the role of the EU’s tantrum child”.

And if it is unwilling to fulfill the milestones next year, Hungary may be deprived of another HUF 400 billion (EUR 1 billion), she said. In 2026, lost funds could amount to HUF 1,000 billion (EUR 2.5 billion) as reconstruction money may also be imperilled, Dobrev insisted.

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