Hungary threatens EU budget block unless frozen funds are released

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Saturday that Hungary will block the European Union’s next multiannual budget unless Brussels releases the remaining portion of EU funds frozen over rule-of-law concerns.

Speaking at the 34th Bálványos Summer Free University and Student Camp in Romania, Orbán said Hungary has only received half of the EU funds it is owed and will not agree to a new budget until the rest is paid, Hungarian outlet Index reported.

“We have already brought half of the money home; it is in our account, but the other half must be brought home. That too will happen. The adoption of the new seven-year budget requires unanimity. Until we receive the money we have missed, there will be no new European budget,” he said.

Hungary and the European Commission have long been at odds over concerns related to democratic backsliding, resulting in a partial freeze of cohesion and recovery funds to Budapest.

Calls for leadership change in EU

The Hungarian premier accused the EU’s current leadership of failing the continent, calling for a change at the helm of the bloc.

“The current leadership of the European Union is always the last to make the worst deals. They have put the Union on a forced path, and this is leading to a trade war that we cannot win. A change of leadership is needed in the Union,” he said.