Hungary Eyes EU Funds Deal as Magyar Heads to Brussels

AOL.com reported Saturday that Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar plans to travel to Brussels and sign a formal accord with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 28 aimed at unlocking billions of euros in Hungary EU frozen funds.

Speaking to the Hungarian TV channel RTL, Magyar said talks with Brussels were moving in the right direction. He confirmed he had exchanged multiple letters and held several conversations with von der Leyen directly on the matter in recent weeks.

A Country Running on Empty

Hungary’s urgency around the frozen funds is hard to overstate. Magyar inherited a state budget carrying a sharply elevated deficit when he took office, and the broader economy only barely escaped recession in the first quarter of this year after an extended period of near-zero growth.

Releasing the EU money would provide significant breathing room for public finances. Analysts have long warned that Hungary’s fiscal position left little margin for error without external support.

Magyar said he intends to reveal the full terms of the agreement during his Thursday Brussels visit. Beyond the funds discussion, his itinerary also includes meetings with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

Years of Friction Between Budapest and Brussels

The standoff over EU funds has deep roots. The European Commission suspended cohesion and recovery payments to Hungary over rule-of-law concerns, a process that accelerated under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government. The funds involved run into the tens of billions of euros.

Magyar, who entered office positioning himself as a break from the Orban era, has made restoring the EU relationship a central pillar of his early tenure. The May 28 meeting would mark one of the most concrete steps yet toward normalising that relationship.

Growth Targets Hinge on the Outcome

Magyar offered a cautiously upbeat economic outlook alongside the funds announcement. His government is projecting GDP expansion of roughly 2% for 2026, or possibly a fraction higher, signalling modest confidence in a recovery taking hold.

Whether that projection holds will depend partly on how quickly released EU funds can flow into infrastructure and public investment. Markets have been watching Budapest’s fiscal trajectory closely this year as Hungary attempts to stabilise after a prolonged period of economic underperformance.

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