‘Super Milestones’ to Secure EU Funds

Hungary has officially submitted its recovery and resilience plan to the European Commission, a plan to amend certain laws necessary for accessing European Union funds withheld during the previous Hungarian administration. Amending those regulations will be on the agenda of Hungarian Parliament’s extraordinary session next Tuesday. “Bringing home EU funds” was one of the most vocal promises of the Tisza Party in the election campaign.

The bill is specifically intended to ensure the timely fulfilment of the so-called ‘super milestones’ related to the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, and its adoption forms part of the implementation of the political agreement reached at the end of May between Prime Minister Péter Magyar and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Institutional and rule-of-law conditions
The bill is aimed exclusively at fulfilling the institutional and rule-of-law conditions related to accessing European Union funds; the legislation does not address ideological or worldview issues, is not related to migration policy matters, and does not raise issues concerning Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

The proposal tightens the rules on the submission and verification of asset declarations, it expands the powers of the Integrity Authority, provides for the dissolution of public-interest asset management foundations performing public functions, amends the Criminal Procedure Code to ensure strict action against corruption offenses, and enhances the transparency of certain payment transactions by amending relevant financial laws.

Putting an end to corruption
Furthermore, to ensure transparency in public procurement and the responsible management of public funds, the bill significantly expands the scope of entities required to publish information on the Central Public Data Registry platform and the range of data to be disclosed.

Péter Magyar described the anti-corruption legislative package, which guarantees the return of EU funds, as historically significant. “The Hungarian people and companies can finally access the hundreds of billions in EU funds they are entitled to, and to do so, we need do nothing more than what the Hungarian people expect of us: put an end to Orbán’s corruption,” he said.

He highlighted that “for years, we heard from the ousted government that the EU was withholding funds for political reasons. For years, we heard that the debate was about illegal migration; that the debate was about Ukraine; that the debate was about various ideological issues. Meanwhile, the documents were accessible to everyone, and they clearly stated what the European Union expects from Hungary: strict anti-corruption measures, a more transparent public life, stronger guarantees, and autonomous universities.”

13% of Hungary's budget at stake
The government announced at the end of May that an agreement had been reached to release EUR 16.4 billion. This amounts to HUF 6,000 billion, or 13% of the Hungarian budget.

In this context, the Prime Minister mentioned that EUR 4.4 billion in cohesion funds would be released, to be spent on healthcare, social, environmental, and transportation developments, as well as support for small and medium-sized enterprises. He also mentioned EUR 2.2 billion for education development, which will primarily support higher education, and EUR 4 billion will be allocated to settle accounts for projects already completed, thereby increasing the budget’s flexibility.

An additional EUR 1.5 billion will be allocated for electricity grid development, approximately EUR 2 billion will be allocated for the procurement of rail and suburban train sets, and substantial funds will also be available for the construction of rental housing.