The European Commission refused to unlock €10 billion for Hungary

The European Commission will not yet allocate €10 billion to Hungary. Officials will wait for the last step from Budapest.

Reuters writes about it.

Hungaryʼs judicial reforms must first be published in the countryʼs official journal to take effect, and only then will the commission allow up to €10 billion in Budapest development aid to be unfrozen from the blocʼs general budget.

European officials hope that unblocking the money will help influence Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to unblock funding for Ukraine, but Hungarian political adviser Balazs Orbán said that to do so, Hungary would require the unfreezing of €30 billion earmarked for Budapest.

Why is this important?

On November 22, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote a letter to the head of the European Council Charles Michel. In the appeal, the Hungarian head of state threatened to block all decisions regarding the financing of Ukraine, the opening of negotiations on joining the EU or further sanctions against the Russian Federation, if the EU leaders do not revise the strategy of supporting Kyiv.

The following day, the European Commission approved the payment of €900 million in advance payments within the framework of the previously frozen fund to support Hungaryʼs economy. Thus, the EU is trying to convince Hungary to unblock the aid package to Ukraine.

• Earlier, the European Commission excluded Hungary from the economic stimulus program to overcome the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic due to signs of corruption and Orbánʼs governmentʼs retreat from the principles of the rule of law. In response, Hungary imposed a de facto veto on the EUʼs decision to provide Ukraine with €50 billion in economic aid until 2027. Also, Orban has repeatedly threatened to block the start of negotiations with Ukraine on its accession to the European Union.