EC approves funds for Hungary

2023-11-23 14:55:42, Kosova & Bota CNA

Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban

The European Commission has approved funds for Hungary in the amount of 900 million euros, despite the efforts of the Hungarian Prime Minister to block the aid that the EU wants to give to Ukraine.

The money comes from the EU's REPowerEU programme, which aims to help the 27 EU countries recover from the energy crisis triggered by the launch of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. This program also aims to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The decision to unblock the funds comes as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - an EU critic who has often clashed with EU leaders over the level of rule of law in his country - has threatened to thwart Ukraine's ambitions to to join the bloc and the EU's plans to give aid to Kiev in the amount of 50 billion euros.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels next month to discuss the formal launch of Ukraine's membership talks.

EU states have four weeks to support the European Commission's decision and approve the granting of funds to Hungary.

The total value of Hungary's post-pandemic recovery plan, which also includes the REPowerEU program, amounts to €10.4 billion in loans and grants. The Commission has insisted that Hungary must achieve rule of law reforms in order for the funds to be unblocked.

Hungary, which receives a lot of funding from the EU, has faced a lot of criticism because of its level of democracy. For almost a decade, the EC has accused Orban of destroying democratic institutions, taking control of the media and limiting the freedoms of minorities. Orban, in power since 2010, denies the allegations.

Orban has criticized the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the war on Ukraine, after describing them as unproductive, and last month he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was the first time Putin met with a leader of an EU state since the start of the war.

Last December, the EU froze billions of euros in funds for Hungary due to the failure of reforms in the rule of law./ REL