The Brussels body is to approve the recovery plan submitted by Hungary and sign the partnership agreement on the operational programmes, but it will tie the release of EU funds to further conditions, a Hungarian new portal reports.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published an article titled Brussels is taking a tough course against Hungary on 23 November. Citing „reliable” sources from Brussels, the author says that „the competent bodies in the Commission came to the conclusion that Budapest had fallen short in adequately fulfilling its pledge to adopt reforms needed to fight corruption”.

However, according to information obtained by the Hungarian Mandiner portal, the situation is far from being as clear as it the article published by the German portal suggests. Negotiations between Brussels and Budapest focused on three issues in connection with EU funds, the Hungarian portal recalls. One of these is the rule of law and conditionality procedure initiated against Hungary on 5 April, two days after the 2022 parliamentary elections. Brussels linked this issue to the negotiations on the recovery fund and the release of cohesion funds to Hungary through the seven-year operational programmes in line with the EU treaties.

When the conditionality procedure was launched against Hungary, the Commission stated that talks may only start about the recovery fund and the cohesion funds due to Hungary if Hungary dispels Brussels’ rule of law concerns and the conditionality procedure initiated on rule of law issues is successfully concluded. After the launch of the procedure, a series of negotiations started between the Hungarian government and Brussels. The talks went on for months, and as a result, Hungary undertook to implement a rule of law and anti-corruption package comprising 17 measures, also accepted by the Commission. The package of proposals has led to the adoption of a series of laws in the past weeks, with the Hungarian parliament enshrining each point of the agreement in law.

The position of the Commission, however, has changed, the Mandiner portal writes. Although they are not fully satisfied with the Hungarian measures, they will still accept Hungary’s plan about the recovery funds and sign the partnership agreement necessary for the cohesion funds. They, however, will set further conditions for the payment of those.

So all in all, the Hungarian government has managed to have the Commission accept the recovery plan and conclude the partnership agreement, but further negotiations are needed for the actual payments of the funds, the portal concludes.