Péter Magyar: Frozen European Union funds will soon be paid to Hungary

(Patria) - Newly elected Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar met with European Union leaders in Brussels yesterday, for the first time since his Tisza party convincingly won the elections on April 12, ending Viktor Orbán's sixteen-year rule, the BBC reported.

After talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which he described as "extremely constructive and successful," Magyar said that "in one sentence, European Union resources will soon arrive in Hungary."

Magyar said he would release billions of euros from EU funds for Hungary that have been frozen due to backsliding in democracy and corruption allegations in Orbán's Fidesz-led government.

Orbán, who ran an anti-EU election campaign, accused his rival of being a Brussels puppet.

After the talks, Magyar tried to convince Hungarians that the EU does not support conditions that would be contrary to Hungary's interests. The unblocked billions would help revive the struggling Hungarian economy, he added.

The Hungarian economy has shown minimal growth in the last three years.

The conditions were simple, said his party colleague Márton Hajdu: there should be no corruption and the government should not interfere with the functioning of the courts.

However, Magyar is in a hurry and his new government will have a lot of work to do to meet these conditions in a short period.

Von der Leyen said she had a "very good exchange" with the next Hungarian prime minister, adding that the European Union's executive commission will "support your work in addressing these issues and aligning with common European values."

Péter Magyar (45) is not expected to be sworn in until May 9, but he has promised to get to work immediately. Two days after his election victory, he already spoke with Von der Leyen by phone to press her on the release of European Union funds.

On Wednesday, he said he would return to Brussels on May 25 to sign a political agreement.

The new government has a lot of work to do

Magyar also met with European Council President Antóniom Costa, who represents the 27 EU member states. The Tisza party leader later wrote on social media that "Hungary was, is, and will be in Europe."

His first priority is to unlock 10.4 billion euros from the EU's Covid-19 recovery fund before it expires at the end of August, if Budapest is unable to meet a series of "super milestones." These milestones include anti-corruption and rule of law reforms set as part of Hungary's post-Covid recovery plan in 2022.

Magyar also has in mind an additional 6.3 billion euros in cohesion funds that have been blocked due to rule of law issues from the Orbán era, which the new government has promised to reverse.

In addition, he could have access to 16.1 billion euros in cheap EU loans for defense and will seek to end the daily fine of one million euros that Budapest has had to pay for violating EU migration rules.

Magyar is in a strong position to push through reforms in the Hungarian parliament, having secured a two-thirds "supermajority" of MPs, which allows the ruling party to change the constitution.

His Tisza party, formed just over two years ago, won 141 seats in the National Assembly out of 199 earlier this month.

There is also significant goodwill from other EU leaders towards the new Hungarian government.

Orbán's veto on a ninety-billion-euro loan to Ukraine was lifted last week at an informal EU summit, which the outgoing prime minister did not attend.

Magyar has sought to reset turbulent relations with Kyiv by offering a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in early June, in the Hungarian-majority town of Berehove in southwestern Ukraine.