Key facts
- Hungary has submitted its revised Recovery and Resilience Plan to the European Commission.
- The plan aims to unlock €16.4 billion in frozen EU funds.
- The agreement was reached between Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
- MEPs are demanding greater transparency regarding the deal and the conditions for fund disbursement.
- The funds were frozen due to concerns over corruption and rule of law under the previous government.
Hungary has submitted its revised Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) to the European Commission, a critical step towards unlocking €16.4 billion in EU funds that were frozen due to concerns over corruption and the rule of law under the previous government led by Viktor Orbán.
The submission follows an agreement between current Prime Minister Péter Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Of the total sum, €10 billion comes from the EU's post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility, which must be drawn down by the end of August.
The revised plan reportedly includes reforms aimed at addressing corruption and rule-of-law issues, alongside investments in key sectors such as energy, housing, transport, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Hungary must meet a complex set of conditions, including 27 "supermilestones," before the funds can be accessed.
Meanwhile, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are calling for greater transparency regarding the deal. The European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee has invited EU commissioners to a hearing on July 14, with several MEPs seeking clarity on the commitments made by Hungary and whether the Commission has altered its criteria for releasing the funds. German Green MEP Daniel Freund described the initial meeting between von der Leyen and Magyar as a public relations exercise, emphasizing the need for concrete details on the €16 billion in taxpayer money.