Steven N.Tibor Navracsics, the minister responsible for the use of EU funds, is holding talks in Brussels, where he is trying to convince the representatives of the European Commission that the Hungarian government is serious about the “country-specific recommendations” needed to access EU reconstruction funds.
The EC wants Hungary to crack down on corruption and improve education before it provides the country with any of the recovery money. Navracsics has said that he wanted Hungary to be able to access the money in 2022.
Hungary’s share of the fund is 5.8 trillion Ft. (US $15.2 billion), of which 2.5 trillion Ft. ($6.6 billion) is a non-repayable grant and 2.8 trillion Ft. ($7.4 billion) is a subsidized loan. According to Magyar Hang, Hungary’s request for the loan, which Viktor Orbán originally had rejected, is an indication of the deterioration of the Hungarian economic situation.
European Commission representatives stated that the recent negotiations had produced some results, but the sections on corruption and education were still open.
Hungary is the only EU country that has not had its reconstruction plan accepted by the Commission. Poland’s plan has been accepted but it has not received the funds yet, as the EU believes that the country still needs to remove some key elements of judicial reform that seriously undermine the rule of law.. [Magyar Hang]
