Ursula von der Leyen: Time is running out for the new Hungarian government; swift reforms are needed

Hungary is facing growing pressure from Brussels to implement key reforms or risk losing billions in EU funding, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned.

Speaking at a public discussion in Hamburg, von der Leyen stressed that time is “extremely tight” for Hungary’s new government, with a crucial August deadline looming, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

If the required reforms, investments and legal changes are not completed by then, the country could miss out on EUR 6.5 billion from the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund.

Hungarians “deserve” the funding

Despite the warning, von der Leyen emphasised that Hungarian citizens should ultimately benefit from the funds.

She said she hopes rapid progress can be made so that the money (previously frozen over rule-of-law concerns under the government of Viktor Orbán) can finally be released.

“The time pressure is enormous,” she noted, adding that Brussels has already sent senior officials to Hungary to work with the team of election winner Péter Magyar to help meet the conditions.

Billions frozen due to rule-of-law concerns

According to von der Leyen, the European Union had been “extremely strict” with the previous Hungarian government, freezing around EUR 17 billion in funds.

She pointed out that the scale of the withheld money had a noticeable impact on Hungary’s economic competitiveness, a factor she suggested voters ultimately responded to at the ballot box.

At the same time, she underlined that all sanctions had to comply strictly with EU treaties to avoid legal challenges that could have undermined the Commission’s position.

Push to reform EU decision-making

Von der Leyen also used the opportunity to reiterate her support for reforming EU decision-making, particularly in foreign policy.

She argued that the bloc should move away from unanimity voting in this area, citing repeated deadlocks caused by Hungary’s vetoes in recent years, especially regarding action against Russia.

“The world rightly asked: where is Europe?” she said, referring to moments when EU responses were delayed or weakened.

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A turning point after Hungary’s political change

The Commission President suggested that Hungary’s recent change in government presents a rare opportunity to rethink how decisions are made at EU level.

However, she acknowledged the paradox: removing unanimity would itself require unanimous agreement among member states, making reform far from straightforward.

What happens next?

Hungary’s new leadership now faces a race against time. Delivering the required reforms by August could unlock billions in much-needed EU funds, while failure to act risks losing the EUR 6.5 billion allocation entirely.

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