European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she is ready to unblock up to €16.4 billion ($19.1 billion) in frozen European Union funding if the new government under Prime Minister Péter Magyar continues to deliver on crucial reforms.
Recent efforts on reforms to realign with EU values and standards "are strong signals that Hungary is turning the page," said von der Leyen on Friday, speaking alongside Magyar in Brussels.
Hungary can hope for €10 billion in grants and loans from the EU's Covid-19 recovery fund after Magyar and the commission agreed on how to invest the money, von der Leyen said.
In addition, Budapest can expect a total of €6.4 billion from the EU's funding programme for economically disadvantaged regions subject to pending reforms.
Maygar called the announcement "a huge success" for Hungary.
The EU funds earmarked for Hungary were frozen due to what the bloc saw as rule of law violations and democratic backsliding under former prime minister Viktor Orbán.
Magyar is under pressure to act quickly, as the funding from the Covid-19 recovery programme requires that reforms and investments are implemented by August 31. Otherwise, Budapest risks losing the funding.
Payments from the bloc's regional support programme that have been suspended due to breaches of EU standards can also be forfeited if no reforms are implemented.
In the past, Hungary has already lost around €2 billion from the regions' support fund over a lack of timely reforms.
Additionally, the commission has yet to assess Hungary's application for a loan worth over €16 billion from the EU's defence investment fund.
The applications of all other 18 member states that expressed interest in receiving EU-backed rearmament loans have already been endorsed by Brussels.
