In the April elections, P. Magyar, who defeated the long-time nationalist leader Viktor Orban, seeks to demonstrate progress in securing much-needed funds that were frozen during the contentious administration of his predecessor.
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“We have come to Brussels for the most important negotiations of recent years. The possibility of obtaining many thousands of billions of forints is at stake,” P. Magyar wrote on the social network “X” on Thursday before the talks.
Due to the decline in democracy, the fight against corruption, and the attitude towards LGBTIQ persons during V. Orban’s rule, the EU has frozen about 18 billion euros of funds allocated to Budapest.
This money could help P. Magyar revive Hungary’s declining economy and show goodwill to Brussels in order to move forward on issues that Budapest previously blocked, such as negotiations on Ukraine’s membership.
P. Magyar was optimistic about the chances of reaching a preliminary political agreement and stated in a video posted on social networks that although there are some “open questions,” agreements on many important topics are already “aligned.”
The EC led by U. von der Leyen takes a more cautious position.
“We will have to wait”
Just over 10 billion euros of the frozen amount comes from the EU COVID-19 pandemic recovery fund, and Hungary has until the end of August to submit a new plan to secure them.
“Teams from both sides have held several meetings to make as much progress as possible,” EC spokesperson Paula Pinho said at a press conference on Thursday.
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“What exactly will be the result? We will have to wait,” she said.
Brussels has shown favor towards a quick unblocking of funds, with both sides aiming to quickly reset relations.
A similar scenario saw the EU unblock billions of euros to Poland in 2024, as soon as the pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government provided assurances that changes were underway.
However, EU sources warned that reforms must first be implemented in Hungary, and it may take time to achieve changes.
While in power, V. Orban, who called himself a “thorn” in the EU’s side and maintained close ties with Moscow, tightly controlled the Constitutional Court, the General Prosecutor’s Office, and the Audit Office, appointing his allies to lead them.
P. Magyar, whose party holds a large majority in parliament, has begun initial reforms, and his camp voted on Wednesday to abandon V. Orban’s plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We are working, fighting, fighting for every euro cent,” P. Magyar said, also meeting in Brussels on Thursday with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and NATO leader Mark Rutte.
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