EU Funds Hungary: Magyar Vows Billions Will Arrive 'Soon' After Brussels Talks

Incoming Hungarian PM Peter Magyar met EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels to unlock €18B in frozen funds. The Silicon Review reports on the post-Orban reset and the race to secure €10B before the August deadline.

Incoming Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, declaring the negotiations "highly constructive and productive" and vowing that frozen EU funds Hungary has been awaiting will "soon arrive."

The talks mark the first high-level engagement since Magyar's Tisza party won a landslide victory in the April 12 parliamentary elections, ending Viktor Orban's 16-year rule. Magyar is seeking to unlock approximately €18 billion in EU funding that was frozen over rule-of-law and corruption concerns under his predecessor.

"The European Union is not imposing any conditions that would be contrary to our country's interests," Magyar wrote on Facebook following the meeting. "In a nutshell: EU funds will soon start arriving in Hungary, and with the help of these funds, we will be able to jump-start the Hungarian economy."

Von der Leyen struck a similarly optimistic tone, posting on X that she had a "very good exchange" with Hungary's next prime minister. "We discussed the steps necessary to unlock EU funds earmarked for Hungary that are frozen due to corruption and rule-of-law concerns. The European Commission will support your work to address these issues and realign with shared European values," she wrote.

Magyar faces a tight deadline. His government will have only until the end of August to push through reforms to access approximately €10 billion from the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund. An additional €6.3 billion in cohesion funds and €16.1 billion in cheap defense loans are also on the table.

The incoming prime minister has signaled that his government will implement four key reforms: anti-corruption measures potentially including joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office restoring judicial independence, protecting media and academic freedoms, and resetting EU relations.

Magyar confirmed he will return to Brussels during the week of May 25 to finalize a political agreement. He is due to be sworn in on May 9.

As EU funds Hungary inch closer to release after years of deadlock under Orban, The Silicon Review examines whether Magyar's promised reforms will come fast enough to secure the billions and whether Hungary's pivot back to Brussels can reverse years of economic stagnation.