PM Orbán must win time in Brussels or will lose EUR billions
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EUR 10 billion is in the so-called RRF fund, a bag full of EU allocations and low-interest EU loans, which is not accessible to Hungary due to rule of law concerns. The Hungarian government has 27 super milestones to accomplish before accessing the amount. However, talks are progressing slowly, and the expenditure has a pressing deadline: 2026. Therefore, the Orbán cabinet is lobbying for an extension, but e.g. Germany rejects such plans. Will Orbán win again?
On 23 February, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council, announced in Warsaw that Brussels opened EUR 137 billion for the Poles thanks to the measures the Tusk cabinet carried out to reestablish the rule of law in Poland.
Von der Leyen surprised even her colleagues with the decision, and the Polish cabinet already got the first EUR 6 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF). But Hungary has not received much from that yet.
Hungary is entitled to receive money from the European Union from three different funds. First, there are the agricultural allocations, EUR 8.4 billion, not frozen. That money flow has not been stopped ever.
Two money taps closed for the Orbán cabinet
The second bag is the so-called development fund, an amount of EUR 22 billion. The entire amount was frozen. But thanks to an agreement with the Hungarian government, the European Council opened EUR 10 billion last December and another EUR 2 billion later. The remaining EUR 10 billion remains frozen.
However, the mechanism of this allocation helps. In this case, Brussels pays only after the project is ready. Thus, the delay in the Budapest-Brussels cash-flow is not visible because the Hungarian government pays the support in advance and submits the relevant bills to Brussels later.
Thus, there is a chance Hungary may utilise the whole money provided there is a political agreement later. The last bill is due in 2030, so Orbán has time, Válasz Online wrote.
The third big money tap is the RRF fund: EUR 6 billion of allocation and EUR 4 billion EU loan with a low-interest rate. The latter’s interest is much lower than the interest the Hungarian state could gain loans from the markets.
In this case, Brussels pays after the Hungarian government fulfils their 27 super milestones. In 2023, Budapest could accomplish only four. And 2026 is the deadline for the program, so there is a chance Hungary will lose this money.
We are a TAKER. Our Politicians may dislike the European Union, but please keep all of that money coming, so we can look good!
https://www.statista.com/chart/18794/net-contributors-to-eu-budget/
Fidesz is incapable of change to truly adhere to EU rule of law regulations. If they actually complied with everything it would complete remove the iron control they have over the country, the media, the judiciary, the political system. That would destroy their carefully laid plans for dictatorship that have been provided for them by the Kremlin. It won’t happen.