LONDON:The EU expects Peter Magyar, leader of Hungary’s Tisza party that has won the country’s parliamentary elections, to lift Budapest’s ...
LONDON:The EU expects Peter Magyar, leader of Hungary’s Tisza party that has won the country’s parliamentary elections, to lift Budapest’s veto on a 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine and another package of sanctions on Russia, the Financial Times reported.
European diplomats believe that this is what Magyar has to do to mend Hungary's relations with the European Union.
According to the newspaper, Brussels links the unfreezing of 35 billion euros in EU funds earmarked for Hungary to 27 conditions it expects the incoming prime minister to deliver on. The conditions include anti-corruption checks and a rollback of the decisions made by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, deemed in breach of EU rules, from the treatment of asylum seekers to ensuring academic freedom.
"There’s a lot of leverage on our side," an EU official said, adding: "The pressure is on him, and I think he wants to deliver quickly."
"There’s no immediate action planned…·[and] a long list of things that the new government will need to do to access these funds," said a person briefed on the initial EU discussions with Budapest.
Magyar’s Tisza Party won the April 12 parliamentary elections, securing 138 out of 199 seats in parliament.
-News Feed
COMMENTS