Prime Minister Péter Magyar has announced that the European Commission has recommended Hungary’s revised Recovery and Resilience Plan for approval, potentially unlocking billions of euros in EU funding.
Speaking after the European Council’s two-day summit in Brussels, Magyar said the Commission had submitted a positive recommendation to the Council of Ministers, which could take a final decision at its next meeting.
The recovery fund is worth around EUR 10 billion to Hungary, although the government has only been able to advance projects linked to approximately EUR 2.6 billion because only those milestones had been sufficiently prepared by the previous administration to be completed.
“There had already been a view in Brussels that Hungary had effectively lost this money,” Magyar said, adding that the government’s negotiations had helped keep access to the funding alive.
“Not a single euro cent” will be left behind
The prime minister also outlined Hungary’s objectives in negotiations over the European Union’s next seven-year budget. “Not a single euro cent will be left here,” Magyar declared, stressing that the government intends to secure every euro available to Hungary.
According to Magyar, preliminary discussions on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework are still at an early stage, and member states remain far from reaching a final agreement.
He noted that Hungary had already secured a significant increase in its projected allocation during negotiations under the Cypriot EU presidency, bringing the country’s expected funding package to approximately EUR 34-35 billion. The government is also seeking to recover EUR 3 billion in EU funds that Hungary lost under the previous administration.
Article 7 procedure could end this year
Magyar said one of his key goals during talks with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola was to bring an end to the long-running Article 7 procedure against Hungary. The procedure was launched by the European Parliament in 2018 over rule-of-law concerns but has remained largely stalled for years.
According to the prime minister, recently adopted anti-corruption measures could provide sufficient grounds for ending the process. Hungary plans to formally request the procedure’s closure next week, and Magyar said it could potentially be terminated by October or November if discussions proceed smoothly.
Migration policy still a key issue
The Hungarian prime minister also participated in a meeting of member states advocating stricter migration policies. Magyar said leaders from 19 EU countries had signed a joint letter calling for stronger measures against illegal migration, including the creation of return centres outside the European Union and more effective deportation procedures.
He argued that attitudes within the EU have shifted significantly in recent years and claimed several national leaders now consider Hungary’s EUR 1 million-per-day migration-related fine imposed by the EU Court of Justice increasingly difficult to justify under current circumstances. “We need new solutions, we need to stop the flow of illegal migration into Europe,” Magyar said after the summit.
Discussions on Ukraine and regional cooperation
On Ukraine, Magyar said Hungary had worked to ensure that the summit conclusions did not commit the EU to accelerating Ukraine’s accession process beyond the opening of the first negotiation chapter cluster. He also confirmed brief discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated his preference for a bilateral meeting in Berehove (Beregszász), home to a large Hungarian minority community in western Ukraine.
The prime minister additionally held talks with the leaders of Slovakia, Croatia, Czechia and Poland ahead of next week’s Visegrád Group summit in Hungary. Among the issues discussed was the long-term proposal for a high-speed rail connection between Budapest and Warsaw.
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Fidesz criticises summit outcome
Opposition party Fidesz sharply criticised Magyar’s performance at the Brussels summit. In a statement sent to the Hungarian News Agency, the party accused the prime minister of abandoning key Hungarian interests “in exchange for a few pats on the back and smiles”.
Fidesz claimed Magyar had weakened Hungary’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war, migration and Ukraine’s EU accession process, describing the summit as a “gloomy beginning” for the new government. The government has rejected such criticism, arguing that constructive negotiations are a more effective way to defend Hungarian interests while maintaining influence within the European Union.
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