Hungary is expected to receive almost the entire €10 billion allocated to it through the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), with the European Commission likely to approve the payment later this month, according to officials cited by Euronews.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who came to power following a landslide victory in April’s elections, made the release of EU funds frozen during Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in office a central promise of his election campaign.
In May, Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reached an agreement on unlocking a total of €16.4 billion in EU funding that had been withheld over concerns about the rule of law and corruption under the previous government.
Of that amount, €10 billion comes from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme is due to expire later this year, meaning all payments must be authorised by the end of November to ensure the funds can be disbursed before the year closes.
Hungary announced at the end of August that it had fulfilled the EU’s conditions for receiving the money, despite significant delays accumulated during Orbán’s time in office. The European Commission subsequently launched its assessment process.
A Commission official familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously, told Euronews that the remaining RRF assessments, including Hungary’s, are expected to be completed by the end of November.
In Hungary’s case, the Commission has reportedly identified no major obstacles, raising the prospect that Budapest could receive the full amount requested or a figure very close to it.
According to information obtained by Euronews, the Commission’s assessment could be published as early as next week.
