EU to release billions in frozen funds for Hungary amid Magyar reforms

PM Peter Magyar called ​the agreement to unlock funds frozen under former leader Orban a ‘historic’ breakthrough.The European Union has announced it will unlock 16.4 billion euros ($19bn) for Hungary in a major win for the newly elected Prime Minister, Peter Magyar.The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday that the bloc was ready to release the funds that were frozen when Viktor Orban was in power.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Hungary’s Magyar urges president to quit, vows to overhaul state medialist 2 of 3Can Hungary wean itself off Russian energy, as its new leader has promised?list 3 of 3Bulgaria election: Ex-President Radev secures landslide victoryend of listUnder Orban’s rule, the EU froze about 18 billion euros ($21bn) in funds earmarked for Budapest due to democratic backsliding, corruption and the treatment of LGBTQ issues.Von der Leyen told reporters that the EU would unlock 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) from the recovery fund, called Next Generation EU, and 4.2 billion euros ($4.8bn) in cohesion funds, with a further 2.2 billion euros ($2.5bn) as the reforms are completed.“That is quite a sum, but … the Hungarian people deserve it. Again, many, many thanks for the outstanding work that has been done,” she told a media conference after talks with Magyar in Brussels.“We can already feel a strong wind of change across Hungary.”“In only a few weeks, you [Magyar] have driven forward long overdue reforms,” she added.Magyar, whose party holds a large majority in parliament, has begun initial reforms and on Wednesday voted to drop Orban’s plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.In a reversal from last year when the event was banned under Orban, police said on Friday they would not ban next month’s Pride parade in Budapest.Magyar described the release of the funds as a “historic day”, saying that they “fought for each cent”.