"Political agreement", Hungary and the EU towards unlocking over 16 billion euros

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar presented his meeting in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as an important step forward in unlocking European Union funds, but EU institutions emphasize that Hungary is still far from receiving the billions of euros requested.

Magyar declared after Friday's meeting that "based on today's meeting, 16.4 billion euros have been unblocked," describing the result as more positive than expected. However, European Commission officials gave a more reserved interpretation, emphasizing that this is not a decision to release funds, but a political agreement of a general nature.

"We have not agreed to distribute the funds," said a senior Commission official, explaining that the parties have only reached a list of commitments that must be fulfilled by August 31 to enable payments.

According to the Commission, Hungary must complete a series of agreed reforms and investments before it can access EU recovery and cohesion funds. Only after these steps have been assessed and approved by the European institutions can the funds be disbursed.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "a lot of work has been achieved in a short time", adding that this creates confidence for the next steps in the process.

In total, the €16.4 billion package for Hungary includes funds from the Recovery and Resilience Instrument, as well as from cohesion programs and requirements for academic freedom.

However, around 2 billion euros are reported to have been lost due to deadlines being missed, while over 530 million euros remain frozen due to EU concerns over the rule of law and human rights.

The Commission stresses that the current agreement does not automatically guarantee the release of funds, but only paves the way for a further process of evaluation and technical negotiations with the Hungarian government.

Hungary is expected to present its revised recovery plan next week, which must then be approved by the Commission and EU member states before any final decision on payments is made.

The GeoPost