Magyar Unlocks Billions Ahead of Reforms. How Will He Deliver?

On 29 May, the new Hungarian government unlocked 16.4 billion euros in EU funds. What comes next will not only determine the country’s future, but Europe’s too.

Hungary still needs to deliver

The largest element of Hungary’s unlocked sum is a 10‑billion‑euro Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) package created after the pandemic, made up of 6.5 billion euros in non‑repayable grants and 3.5 billion euros in low‑interest loans. Additionally, Hungary will receive 4.2 billion euros from cohesion funds that had been frozen under the rule‑of‑law procedure, linked to anti‑corruption and judicial reforms. A further 2.2 billion euros will be released after measures to restore academic freedom, all in non‑repayable form, representing roughly 13 per cent of the annual state budget.

The coming months will be hot for Magyar’s government in more than just meteorological terms. To access the funds, it must first submit a revised Recovery Fund programme to the European Commission, which is expected to approve it in June. Then, in July, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) will decide on the plan. The timetable will remain tight. As Minister of Finance, András Kármán has outlined it: ‘The milestones set out in the program must be completed by Hungary by the end of August, and once the payment requests are submitted in September, the actual disbursement of the funds could begin in the final quarter of 2026.’