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“We have agreed with the President of the European Commission on the release of 16.4 billion euros, approximately 6,000 billion forints, in EU funds,” Magyar announced in Brussels.
At a joint press conference with von der Leyen, Magyar said one of their most important campaign promises was to bring home and unlock the many thousands of billions of forints in EU funding that is due to the Hungarian people, Hungarian companies, Hungarian public services, health care, education, transportation and the social sector.
He said that of the EUR 16.4 bln, EUR 4.4 bln are cohesion funds, which the Hungarian government can spend on transport development, health care investments, social investments, environmental investments and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Some EUR 2.2 bln will go toward education, development and research, EUR 1.5 bln will be allocated to the development of the electricity grid, and the government will be able to spend EUR 2 bln on the procurement of new trains, suburban trains and trams.
Magyar said an agreement had been reached with the European Commission on all issues that would enable the Hungarian people to access the funds they are entitled to. “On April 12, the people gave the government an unprecedented political mandate, just as they gave it the mandate to bring the funds home and kick-start an economy that has been unable to grow for four years, one that had the highest inflation in Europe, where we are currently struggling every day to keep public services from collapsing,” he said.
“The goal was clear from the start; we negotiated very hard and fought for every euro cent,” he said.
The real reason why the European Union was not in a position to provide Hungary with the many thousands of billions of forints it is entitled to was corruption, Magyar said, adding that the level of corruption had long been at “unimaginable” levels in both the European Union and Hungary.
He added that he had said from the very beginning that if Hungary adopted anti-corruption measures, established the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, strengthened the powers of the Integrity Authority, and adopted conflict-of-interest rules like other countries, “then these funds would come.”
He said a few weeks were enough to reach political agreement “on this enormous amount of EU funding.” Three or four weeks were enough to achieve “what [former Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán and his outgoing government were unable to achieve in three or four years.”
“Or perhaps they didn’t even want to achieve it; we don’t know,” Magyar said.
Brussels did not have ideological expectations of Hungary regarding the release of European Union funds, but merely expected the “best possible action” against corruption, he said.
He added that what the commission president requested in the interest of European and Hungarian taxpayers could have been fulfilled long ago had the Orbán government truly governed in the interest of the Hungarian people.
He said the Tisza government advocated zero tolerance of corruption and, in certain cases, would adopt anti-corruption measures stricter than what had been requested.
As an example, he said the government would overhaul and tighten the asset declaration system, making it verifiable. The draft legislation is ready and includes a provision stating that anyone who intentionally provides false information in their asset declaration is punishable by up to two years in prison, he added.
The prime minister also noted his submission to the commission president of Hungary’s application to join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“We are declaring zero tolerance for corruption. We will eliminate any opportunities for those in power to divert public assets into their own pockets, or to their oligarchs, or to their family members,” he stated.
“This is a historic day for Hungary; a historic agreement has been reached, and we are working together with great joy for the future and competitiveness of Hungary and the European Union,” Magyar said, adding that “this is a political agreement, a very strong signal.”
“We will bring this money home, as we promised, to rebuild Hungary, jumpstart the economy, restore and develop public services, and strengthen the competitiveness of Hungarian companies and small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.
The negotiations with the European Commission and the commissioners were exclusively about unfreezing Hungarian EU funds and bringing EU money back to Hungary, and “no other topic was discussed between us,” he said.
Answering a question, Magyar said public interest asset management foundations, or KEKVAs, that do not oversee universities will be dissolved by the end of summer, fulfilling a milestone needed to access EU funds.
He said that regarding the KEKVAs, their agreement is that there will be a transition period until Aug. 31, 2027, concerning the foundations overseeing universities.
There are some public benefit foundations that own hospitals, but the university itself is an institution that requires time for its ownership and operational structure to be transformed, he said.
Magyar said public benefit foundations not affiliated with universities will be dissolved by Aug. 31, including the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. The public functions of these institutions will be taken over by the state or the new owner, he added.
Meanwhile, regarding the rights of Hungarians living in Ukraine, Magyar said Hungary would like to receive guarantees that the 100,000 Hungarian citizens living in Transcarpathia can use their mother tongue again in schools, cultural institutions and administration.
Answering a question, the prime minister said there was no “link” between the release of Hungarian funds and Ukraine’s EU accession or the opening of the first negotiating chapter.
He emphasized that professional talks are already underway between the Ukrainian and Hungarian sides. He highlighted that an 11-point proposal, mainly concerning educational, cultural and language rights, had been drawn up, and they are waiting for the Ukrainian side to implement it. He added that it is a fundamental human right, in Europe and elsewhere, that wherever someone lives as a minority, they can use their mother tongue.
“Technically, the talks are very promising,” he said, adding that he hoped the negotiations would be concluded soon and Ukraine would give a guarantee to transpose the 11 points into its own legislation. This could then be followed by an official meeting between the two foreign ministers, he added.
Magyar said he continued to maintain his offer that, after these issues are resolved, he would be happy to meet the Ukrainian president for a political agreement somewhere in Ukraine, preferably in Transcarpathia.
“We are ready to open a new chapter: I think now is the time to open a new chapter in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations. We would like to have good relations with all our neighbours,” he declared.
On another subject, the prime minister said President Tamás Sulyok had not expressed any problems as regards the rule of law during the Orbán government, “but now he does, when he fears for his own position and his multi-million-forint salary.”
The president is turning to the Council of Europe’s constitutional advisory body, the Venice Commission, with his complaint that the prime minister had repeatedly called on him to resign.
Magyar said that now, after the parliamentary election with the highest-ever turnout, which the Tisza Party won by a margin unseen since 1990, the president has started to fear for democracy and the rule of law, “even though he had no such concerns under [then Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán’s government.”
Calling the president “Orbán’s puppet,” Magyar insisted that Sulyok had not expressed any reservations about the rule of law when thousands of minors were “damaged in child protection, when Hungarian rule of law was hollowed out and destroyed, and when Orbán placed his puppets in power everywhere.”
“But now, when he fears for his own position and his multi-million-forint salary, the lawyer has suddenly become sensitive and has run off to the Venice Commission. Good luck with that!” he declared.
Magyar sent a message to Sulyok: he had until May 31 to resign and leave with his remaining dignity.
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