Hungary’s race to access EU’s 10.4 billion euros is ambitious but possible – officials
Key takeaways
- Hungary also has some 7 billion euros in EU structural funds frozen for the same reason, but has several years to access this cash, so getting the recovery money has priority.
- “Meeting the requirements for all the 10.4 billion euros before the end of August is ambitious, but not impossible,” one EU official close to the issue said.
- The old plan, submitted by Orban’s government at the end of 2022, is no longer viable because all the timelines have changed and investment will have to be refocused with new priorities, officials said.
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Add ARY News on Google AAResize Hungary is racing to meet an August 31 deadline to become eligible for 10.4 billion euros ($12.2 billion) from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund and while the task is ambitious, it is still achievable, three EU officials said.
Hungary’s share of the EU recovery fund money — 6.5 billion euros in grants and 3.9 billion euros in cheap loans — was frozen by the EU because of Hungary’s rule of law problems under the previous government of Viktor Orban.
Hungary also has some 7 billion euros in EU structural funds frozen for the same reason, but has several years to access this cash, so getting the recovery money has priority.