Former MEP claims Tisza government could immediately receive EUR billions from the EU

Hungary has been blocked from accessing at least 19 billion euros of European Union funds for years due to rule of law issues—an eye-watering HUF 7,418 billion at today’s exchange rates, an unfathomable amount for everyday people. To put this in perspective, this sum could finance every Hungarian pensioner’s pension payments twice over for an entire year. István Ujhelyi, a former Member of the European Parliament, says there exists a document capable of releasing these funds almost like magic, but it comes with serious political conditions. He suggested that only a Tisza government could get it.

EU money is as essential as a slice of bread

Over recent years, Hungary has experienced little meaningful economic growth; at times, the economy stagnated or even slipped into recession. The result has been soaring inflation and increasing hardship in daily life, despite nominal wages rising in figure. The government has tried various strategies to kickstart growth, but neither Chinese battery manufacturing, other foreign investments, nor state-driven stimulation of domestic consumption can replace the development funds provided by the European Union.

For simplicity’s sake, “Brussels” planned to inject HUF 32.1 billion into Hungary’s economy between 2021 and 2027 through cohesion and recovery funds. However, only 10.2 billion euros have arrived, thanks to the government having implemented the committed judicial reforms. The remaining money is still parked, although agricultural subsidies continue independently. During such a difficult and vulnerable economic period, this money is as essential as a slice of bread, yet without political will, its release is highly unlikely.

We could permanently lose funds after next year’s elections

Moreover, deductions are continuously made from the missing over 19 billion euros. These deductions include daily fines and penalties related to Hungary’s asylum system, plus a 1.1 billion euro sum lost due to a failure to implement certain rule-of-law reforms. Whether these amounts can be recovered with political change remains uncertain, though much is possible if both sides desire it.

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Hungary must complete payments from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) by summer 2026, yet these payments have not even started because the government has failed to meet any of the 21 milestones. Some projects are funded from the state budget, but their accountability is, at best, questionable. Losing even this source would cost the Hungarian economy over 10 billion euros—more than HUF 4,500 billion—enough to finance the entire state healthcare system for a year and two months.