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He also pledged to pursue additional funding to compensate for EUR 2 bln in EU support lost under the previous government.
Speaking to Hungarian journalists ahead of a two-day European Council summit beginning Thursday, Magyar said his government maintained a firm position on migration and would continue strengthening Hungary’s borders, which also form part of the EU’s external border.
He pledged that the release of thousands of convicted people smugglers from Hungarian prisons under the previous government would not be repeated.
The government is negotiating with the European Commission and member states to resolve the proceedings carrying a daily EUR 1 mln migration fine as quickly as possible, he said.
“Hungary has so far lost roughly one billion euros so far,” Magyar said, blaming the previous government for failing to establish regulations compatible with EU law.
Magyar welcomed the Council of the European Union’s decision to close the conditionality procedure launched against Hungary in 2022, describing it as “worth 4.2 billion euros to the Hungarian people and Hungarian companies.”
The decision allows a further portion of funding frozen over rule-of-law and corruption concerns under the previous government to reach Hungary, he said.
“Both the sums released earlier and this amount, as well as sums to be released in the future, will provide enormous help in the coming years to restart the Hungarian economy, to boost Hungary’s competitiveness and, ultimately, to deliver a significant rise in the living standards of the Hungarian people,” Magyar said.
Hungary had twice lost EUR 1 bln in EU funding because the previous government failed to meet the necessary conditions, he said. Magyar maintained that Hungary should be compensated for that lost support.
The government’s objective in negotiations on the next seven-year EU budget is to secure additional resources equal or close to the EUR 2 bln lost, either through project financing or increased allocations for Hungary.
Magyar said negotiations had already delivered progress, with proposed funding for Hungary approximately EUR 1 bln higher than under the earlier Cypriot EU presidency’s proposal.
He welcomed the Irish presidency’s draft, saying it did not reduce Hungary’s proposed allocation or increase member states’ contribution obligations. Although the overall EU budget could shrink, he said, reductions would not affect areas important to Hungary, including cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy.
Magyar recalled that many had considered the release of around HUF 6 tln in EU support impossible, but negotiations throughout the summer and extensive preparation had made the funds accessible. He said he expected similar efforts from government officials and diplomats to secure compensation for the funding lost earlier.
Turning to Ukraine, Magyar described the country’s adoption on Monday of legislation on education in minority languages as a historic breakthrough that could put bilateral relations “on a new footing.”
He said negotiations had opened the way for ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia to regain educational rights, followed by language-use rights, rights before public authorities and political rights.
A meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels on Friday could lead to another meeting in Berehove, known in Hungarian as Beregszász, this fall, Magyar said.
The Brussels talks are expected to include a brief one-on-one discussion reviewing bilateral relations and further cooperation. Magyar said he wanted confirmation at the highest political level of a 10-point agreement already reached at expert and lower political levels.
He expects Zelensky to reaffirm that commitments will be fulfilled on schedule, particularly those concerning minority language use, education and dealings with public authorities.
Magyar said Ukrainian authorities should be ready to address any problems reported by Hungarian political, cultural or church organizations in Transcarpathia. Guaranteeing minority rights to European standards was particularly important for a country seeking EU membership, he added.
The agreement would also benefit other national minorities, including Romanians and Poles, he said.
According to Magyar, every Transcarpathian Hungarian political organization, church and cultural organization, as well as the university, supported the agreement. Community representatives had long called for better bilateral relations to support their security and peaceful daily lives.
He said contact with those organizations had continued since his 2024 visit to Kyiv and Transcarpathia, and that they had participated in preparing the agreement.
Magyar said Europe’s competitiveness had been “declining in a straight line” and expressed hope that the trend would reverse.
With Europe facing an energy crisis and sharply rising energy prices, member states wanted concrete European Commission measures to curb increases and support businesses and households, he said.
On enlargement, Magyar said accession talks with Montenegro were expected to conclude, while progress could also be expected for North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia.
That did not mean Serbia was close to joining, he cautioned, but progress served Hungary’s interests, including those of the ethnic Hungarian community there.
Addressing Hungary’s finances, Magyar reiterated the government’s goals of maintaining a stable and sustainable budget, reducing the deficit, lowering public debt where possible and restarting economic growth.
“In the Orbán government’s last four years there was no economic growth, but there was a soaring budget deficit, a badly planned budget and rising state debt. We will now do exactly the opposite,” he said.
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