According to Minister Tibor Navracsics, the Council will not approve the punitive sanctions because Hungary will fulfill its commitments.Continue reading
The Hungarian government is committed to reaching an agreement with the European Commission on EU funds. According to press reports, serious commitments have been made in Brussels.
“There is no plan B: we want to reach an agreement with the EU, and we will,” Finance Minister Mihály Varga said at a background press briefing on Tuesday, according to VG.hu. The Minister added that Hungary will deliver what it committed to. Mihály Varga noted that November 19 is an important date, as the European Commission has given Hungary until then to introduce reforms. Varga said that Hungary will receive 701 million euros, the third best performance in terms of the size of population and GDP.
Justice Minister Judit Varga wrote on Facebook that five of the legislative packages submitted to reach an agreement with the European Commission have already been passed by the parliament, and four of them have been announced. “This means that two-thirds of our commitments have already been met. The work will continue,” she added.
Radio Free Europe reports that an agreement on the recovery fund could be reached immediately after November 19. “Hungary’s recovery plan will be much better than that of most EU Member States,” a source told the portal. According to Radio Free Europe, the government has pledged that Hungarian teachers’ salaries could reach 80 percent of the national average wage for graduates by 2026, instead of 2028 as previously announced.
On Wednesday, AFP reported that according to its sources, the deadline has been extended to 19 December.
#UPDATE An EU deadline for Hungary to show it has implemented anti-corruption reforms in order to unlock funds from the bloc has been extended to December 19, diplomats said on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/3h0Mg39rzB
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 12, 2022
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