Ursula von der Leyen's right-hand man sent to Budapest to begin work for the release of €10 billion as Magyar races to unfreeze the cash in exchange of reforms. According to sources involved in the negotiations, the release of funds is not connected to Ukraine.
The European Commission has agreed to work with Hungary's incoming government from the Tisza Party to release frozen European funds earmarked for Hungary, Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said after talks held over the weekend.
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The Commission dispatched a high-level delegation to Budapest for informal talks with Hungary's incoming government over two days ending Saturday, as a race against time began to unlock billions in recovery funds before an end-of-August deadline.
The Commission's team — led by Björn Seibert, chief of staff to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and accompanied by several director-generals — concluded talks with representatives of Péter Magyar's Tisza Party in the Hungarian capital.
It is unprecedented for the Commission to send such a senior delegation to meet officials of a party not yet in power.
"There is full agreement on one point: real work must begin to ensure that the EU funds due to the Hungarian people finally arrive in Hungary," Magyar said in a social media statement after the talks.
The talks marked the first informal contact between Brussels and Hungary's future government, coming only days after Tisza's landslide election victory ended Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule.
"The meetings were an early opportunity for practical discussions on how to move forward and make real progress to unlock EU funds earmarked for Hungary that are frozen due to corruption and rule of law concerns. This necessary work will continue," the European Commission said in a statement.
The Commission has blocked €17bn of the €27bn earmarked for Hungary over rule-of-law deficiencies and corruption. Hungary is also seeking €17bn from the EU's joint defence borrowing instrument, SAFE, to modernise its defence industry.
Should both tranches reach Hungary in the coming years, totalling €34bn, the economic impact would be significant.
Race against time to save EU funds by summer-end
The immediate focus, however, is the €10.4bn Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which Hungary risks losing entirely without an agreement by the end of August.
"Time is running out for the RRF. If the deadline was not set for the end of August, the EU delegation would not have visited so early. Hungary is on the verge of losing a lot of money, and the Commission understands this and took action," a Tisza Party source directly involved in the talks told Euronews on the condition of anonymity as talks are sensitive.
According to the Tisza source, the meeting was a productive starting point, though the road to unlocking the funds remains long. Magyar has announced a four-step plan to unblock the money, centred on combating corruption, restoring judicial independence, and safeguarding press and academic freedom.
"We intend to fully deliver on these commitments once in government, including our promise to bring home the EU funds that rightfully belong to Hungarians," Péter Magyar said after the talks.
The decision not to meet members of the outgoing Orbán government was itself a pointed political signal.
The Tisza delegation included future foreign minister Anita Orbán, finance minister-designate András Kármán, economy minister-designate István Kapitány, Tisza vice president Zoltán Tarr and the party's Brussels chief of staff and EU expert Márton Hajdu.
Party leader and prime minister-designate Péter Magyar joined the first part of the talks.
Hungary promises quick steps to access funds
Tisza officials say the party's electoral programme — including joining the European Public Prosecutor's Office — goes beyond what the Commission has required. Work is also under way to overhaul Hungary's Recovery and Resilience Plan, which covers green transition, digital transformation and energy projects. Priority areas include modernising the country's railway network and suburban lines, and upgrading the electricity grid.
"We need to assess which reforms and investments can be practically implemented. The next government will deliver elements of the Tisza electoral manifesto within the RRP framework," the Tisza source said.
To unfreeze the blocked €17bn, Hungary must fulfil 27 so-called super-milestones.
A European Commission source, speaking anonymously, said the remaining open issues could be resolved through amendments passed in a single parliamentary session, provided there is political will in Budapest.
The new government is expected to take office in May.
Veto on Ukraine not related to financial questions
All outstanding issues were addressed during the Budapest talks, including the lengthy list of disputes between the Orbán government and the EU.
Among them was Orbán's blocking of the EU's €90bn loan to Ukraine and the opening of accession negotiation chapters for Kyiv. Both Tisza and the Commission have indicated that Ukraine-related matters will not be linked to the question of funds.
"It is impossible to connect the two issues, as the requirements related to the funds are clearly defined," the Tisza source said, adding that deeper reforms should not be rushed and will be a longer-term undertaking.
Talks between the two delegations are set to continue until the new government takes office.