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EU unblocks another €2 billion of frozen funds for Hungary

Mar 1, 2024

Hungary has managed to unblock about two billion euros in European Union funds after the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban fulfilled the European Commission's requirements for educational training and gender equality.

This information was confirmed on March 1 by the European Commission's representative Stefan de Kersmecker, as quoted by Bloomberg.

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According to de Kersmeker, the European Commission unblocked the last tranche after Hungary fulfilled the so-called thematic conditions related to educational training and gender equality.

The funds are part of more than €30 billion that the EU had withheld for Hungary, and the conditions Budapest met were not related to concerns about the rule of law or corruption, the main reasons for the funding freeze.

After the latest decision, the amount of funds the EU continues to withhold from Hungary has dropped to €19 billion, de Kersmeker said. About half of these are grants and loans to fight COVID-19, and the other half are so-called cohesion funds.

Author - Olena Madiak, 01/03/2024

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