Orbán’s government calls for the immediate provision of resources allocated to the EU

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has informed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of a government decision under which Hungary requests the immediate availability of the loan facility allocated under the Recovery and Recovery Facility. resilience, Orbán’s press chief said on Tuesday.

Bertalan Havasi said there is a war going on on Hungary’s borders and in the last few weeks alone almost half a million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Hungary fleeing the war. The government expects this number to multiply in the coming period. The economic consequences of the war and the imposed sanctions weigh heavily on the Hungarian economy, Havasi said.

Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures and the government has decided to request the EC to authorize the immediate provision of the loan facility allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

In the English-language letter made available to MTI, Orbán said that “the war in Ukraine poses an unprecedented challenge to member states of the European Union. The security risks, the burden of the humanitarian crisis, the economic consequences of the conflict and the negative effects of EU sanctions are to a large extent borne by the countries protecting the eastern borders of the European Union.

Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures. Hungary is prepared and holding its own in the crisis. So far, we have received more than 450,000 people who fled before the war and from the war”,

said Orban.

“We provide humanitarian aid to those who come to us and to those who need it in Transcarpathia. We have strengthened the protection of our eastern borders. We do all this in the name of humanity and for the peace and security of the European Union as a whole.”

Orbán said that in a crisis situation, the preservation of the unity of the European Union and the shared responsibility between member states were particularly important.

To this end, Hungary only asks for immediate and effective access to the EU funds allocated to it, and to be able to use them flexibly for the purposes best suited to tackling the crisis.

Orbán called on the EC to urgently approve recovery and resilience plans, partnership agreements and operational programs of member states protecting the eastern borders of the European Union.

He also called on the EC to enable rapid, targeted and flexible use of EU budgetary resources by removing pre-financing, co-financing and transferability limits.

Orbán noted in the letter that 30% of the financial support available under the Recovery and Resilience Facility until the end of 2026 is to be reallocated by June 30 this year in light of indicators of current economic growth. The reallocation would result in a loss of resources for all member states protecting the EU’s eastern borders, which could amount to up to 16% of available grants for some member states, he added. “This is unacceptable. I call for a review of the reassignment system and to ensure that Member States which bear the brunt of the crisis of war while making a significant contribution to the economic growth of the European Union do not lose not EU resources,” Orbán mentioned.

In addition to the development needs described in its Recovery and Resilience Plan, and independently of its approval process, Hungary requests the immediate availability of the loan facility allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Facility for the defence, border control, as well as humanitarian and other emergency relief. crisis management missions,

said the prime minister.

“Under the current circumstances, these are the most important areas of improvement in terms of building our resilience. The European Union can only provide real and substantial help if it offers immediate and flexible funding for these purposes,” Orbán said in the letter addressed to Von der Leyen and also sent to the President and members of the European Council and the President of the European Union. Parliament.

Photo illustrated by Balázs Szecsődi/Prime Minister’s Press Office