Hungary has met all the European Union’s requirements to access “thousands of billions” of forints in EU funding, “in line with its commitments and by today’s deadline”, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Facebook on Monday.
“Now the funds from Brussels are welcome to arrive,” Magyar said, thanking everyone who had contributed to the Government’s efforts. Hungary has reportedly completed the measures required to unlock around €10 billion from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, while a total of €16.4 billion in previously frozen EU funds is at stake.
Magyar talks about a more constructive role
Hungary had become a more constructive player within the European Union under the new Government, Magyar said at the Bled Strategic Forum. “But that does not mean that we would not defend Hungarian interests every minute of every day,” he added.
Magyar also spoke of the need to strengthen the EU’s political leadership, improve its competitiveness and harness the potential of Central European co-operation. He said Hungary was ready to play a more constructive role in the European Union than it had in the past.
‘We have come for our money’
“It is not a great challenge to be more constructive than we were before,” he remarked.
Magyar stressed that the Prime Minister’s duty was to represent the interests of the Hungarian people, just as every EU member state was required to defend its own interests.
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Recalling his first meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, in Brussels, Magyar said he had made Hungary’s position clear: “We have come for our money.”
He described negotiations over €16.4 billion in Hungarian EU funds, which had been frozen for three or four years, as smooth. According to Magyar, Hungary gained access to the money within a single day, although the European Commission is expected to assess the country’s compliance with the agreed milestones before funds are disbursed.
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Featured image: illustration. Facebook/Péter Magyar
