Black day of the Orbán cabinet approaches: Hungary may lose euro billions next week
The European Union established a EUR 650 billion scheme in 2021 to aid in the economic recovery of the European continent following the COVID-19 pandemic. Hungary is entitled to EUR 10.4 billion, of which 6.5 billion is non-refundable. However, Budapest has not yet received anything from that fund because the Orbán cabinet could not address the European Commission’s rule of law concerns. Next week, the Brussels body is expected to announce that the scheme’s deadline will not be extended beyond August 2026. That means Hungary will lose EUR 10.4 billion at a time when every euro could count for the struggling Hungarian economy.
Hungary may lose euro billions on 4 June
According to Politico, Hungary is not the only EU member state fighting for the postponement of the RRF scheme’s 31 August 2026 deadline. Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland are also in that team, but it seems they will not be successful in their struggle. Based on the media outlet, EC officials will announce their refusal to extend the deadline on 4 June.
Meanwhile, multiple countries are trying to maximise the use of the RRF monies. One example is Poland, which reassigned EUR 6 billion from green development projects to defence and infrastructural developments due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission helps member states to maximise the use of the “free cash”.
However, due to the Northern European countries’ strong opposition, including the Netherlands and Germany, they will not prolong the program. The European Commission says there are no legal grounds for delaying the expiration date.
“Member states need to urgently review their plans and remove any measures that are no longer feasible,” Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said earlier this month.
Hungary will get nothing due to rule of law concerns
According to Politico, member states must request payments from the RRF fund until 31 August 2026, a cutoff deadline. That means the European Commission will have until 31 December 2026 to satisfy the needs and distribute the money. So far, they have paid EUR 315 billion out of the EUR 648 billion in grants and loans.
Hungary has not received a single eurocent yet due to the rule of law concerns of the European Commission. That means we may lose our EUR 10.4 billion in RRF funds, out of which EUR 6.5 billion is a grant and EUR 3.9 billion is a low-interest loan, Portfolio, a Hungarian economy-focused news outlet, wrote.
This will happen at a time when every euro counts for the struggling Hungarian economy.
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