Magyar: Hungary And Brussels To Sign Deal On Unlocking Billions In Frozen EU Funds

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Saturday that negotiations on suspended European Union funds were “progressing well” and that he expects to sign an agreement in Brussels next week aimed at unlocking billions of euros for Hungary.

Speaking to commercial broadcaster RTL, Magyar said he had recently held several conversations and exchanged letters with Ursula von der Leyen regarding the long-delayed funds.

Hungary has been seeking access to billions of euros in frozen or delayed EU money tied to rule-of-law, corruption, and governance concerns that escalated under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The new Hungarian government says the funds are urgently needed to stabilize state finances after inheriting a soaring budget deficit and an economy that only narrowly emerged from recession in the first quarter following years of stagnation.

Magyar said he plans to announce details of the expected agreement during his Brussels visit on Thursday.

HUNGARY PUSHES FOR EU FUNDS

But speed is of the essence, and Magyar is urging Brussels to unfreeze 17 billion euros ($19.8 billion) in funding that has been blocked over concerns about democratic backsliding and rule-of-law issues under Orbán.

Of that amount, roughly 10 billion euros must be accessed before August or risk expiring, according to officials familiar with the negotiations.

During the Brussels trip, Magyar is also expected to meet Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever as Hungary seeks to rebuild ties with Western allies and European institutions after years of tensions with Brussels under Orbán.

The Hungarian leader has pledged to restore closer cooperation with the EU while also pursuing negotiations with Ukraine on the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in western Ukraine, an issue Budapest says remains important to Kyiv’s path to European Union accession.

Magyar added that his government expects Hungary’s economy to grow by around 2 percent or slightly more in 2026.

UKRAINE TALKS CONTINUE

Separately, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his new Hungarian counterpart, Anita Orbán, held their first in-person talks on improving the rights of the roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.

“The ministers reviewed expert-level consultations held this week on the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and agreed to hold a second round next week,” Sybiha said after meeting Orbán — who is not related to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers summit in Helsingborg.

“We both recognize the importance of progress on this track; we seek to find constructive solutions and achieve tangible results,” Sybiha wrote on social media platform X.

The talks come ahead of an expected meeting next month between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar.

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