Hungary has received HUF 184 billion in EU funding to raise the salaries of teachers and kindergarten teachers, Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga announced in a Facebook post. He noted that the government had initially spent approximately HUF 340 billion from domestic sources on the wage increase implemented at the beginning of the year. The funds received serve as an ex-post contribution to the wage increase, which was pre-financed from the budget.
Since December last year, Hungary has received HUF 734 billion in previously blocked EU funds, Varga highlighted.
The Blocking of Funds after Disputes with Brussels
In November 2022, the Commission decided to freeze Hungary’s Cohesion Fund and Recovery and Resilience Fund payments due to its disputes with Budapest on several fronts. On 13 December 2023, after months of negotiations, Brussels concluded that Hungary had met certain conditions sufficient to release €10.2 billion of frozen Cohesion Fund payments.
However, more than €20 billion remains blocked by the Commission under so-called ‘rule of law concerns’. To unblock these funds, the Hungarian government would have to meet 17 ‘super milestones’, most of which pertain to transparency in public procurement, the independence of the judiciary, and similar areas where Hungary has made significant progress in recent years.
Despite this progress,
new conditions seem to emerge as soon as the Hungarian government meets existing ones.
A prime example is Ursula von der Leyen’s statement to the European Parliament in January this year: ‘Around EUR 20 billion [from the EU funds Hungary is entitled to] remain frozen. They are suspended for reasons that include concerns over LGBTIQ rights, academic freedom, and asylum rights.’
According to the Commission, the Child Protection Act adopted in the summer of 2021 discriminates against sexual minorities. In contrast, Hungary argues that the act is intended to protect children from the perceived harmful effects of gender ideology and indoctrination. Brussels also advocates for Hungary to change its longstanding and consistent migration policy, which prioritizes strict border protection.
The forthcoming European elections are particularly significant regarding the fate of EU funds.
Glaring Double Standards
As evidenced in Poland’s case, Brussels is withholding funds on purely political grounds. When Donald Tusk came to power, the Commission considered the Article 7 procedure against Warsaw, initiated under the Law and Justice government, to be closed. This is a clear indication that the left-wing Brussels elite is targeting member states on ideological grounds. However, if the progressive leftists, who have dominated EU institutions in recent years, can be pushed back, cooperation between the Commission and member states can return to a pragmatic approach. This would mean that Hungary could access the funds it deserves.
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