The European Commission is preparing to allocate €13 billion from EU funds for Hungary, which are currently frozen.
This is reported by the Financial Times with reference to three officials who are familiar with the discussions.
The Commission intends to unfreeze around €13 billion of funding by the end of November. The allocation of funds was partly motivated by the desire to win Orbánʼs support on the budget increase (Orbán has vowed not to agree to any increase in the EU budget until the money for Budapest is unfrozen).
Progress in restoring Hungaryʼs access to these funds is taking place against the background of Brusselsʼ desire to secure unanimous support for increasing its budget by the end of the year, in particular, for the continuation of financial assistance to Ukraine.
The European Commission proposed to increase the total EU budget by €66 billion to cover the increased expenses, part of which will contribute to Kyivʼs €50 billion financial support program.
- In December 2022, the EU froze Hungaryʼs €22 billion after deciding that it was not complying with rules on human rights protection and the rule of law.