BUDAPEST – Péter Magyar, Hungary’s new prime minister, struck an optimistic but defiant tone ahead of high-stakes talks in Brussels, vowing to unlock billions in frozen EU funds while maintaining Hungary’s veto threat over Ukraine’s EU accession.

In a video posted from Hungary’s Permanent Representation to the EU, Magyar said he would meet Mark Rutte, the Nato chief, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president on his Brussels tour, on Thursday and Friday.

Accompanying him are Finance Minister András Kármán, Transport Minister Dávid Vitézy and his Foreign Minister Anita Orbán.

Seeking to deliver on campaign promises centred on anti-corruption and economic recovery, Magyar announced Hungary would formally apply to join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

He also pledged to strengthen the country’s ‘Integrity Authority’ and introduce prison sentences of up to two years for politicians filing false asset declarations.

Magyar also announced that Budapest had reached a preliminary agreement with the European Commission over the controversial public-interest asset management foundations (or KEVKA) overseeing Hungarian universities.

The aim, he said, was to replace opaque financing structures with a more transparent system without placing universities under direct state control.

After 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule, Hungary ranks lowest in the EU for rule of law with ongoing declines in judicial independence and legislative integrity. Institutional sources and NGOs highlight persistent nepotism, cronyism, and corruption risks.

Hungary faces an end-of-August deadline to complete dozens of rule-of-law reforms tied to the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Magyar hopes to unlock more than €1 billion for electricity grid upgrades, rail modernisation and the recapitalisation of the Hungarian Development Bank as part of a broader push to release €10.4 billion in recovery funds and €7 billion in cohesion money.

However, European Commission officials have already sought to temper expectations.

“The Commission is doing everything to help Budapest move forward, but it’s unlikely they will get the €10 billion they are aiming for,” a senior EU official told Euractiv’s Rapporteur.

The talks are also closely tied to Ukraine’s membership process.

While Brussels plans to propose opening Kyiv’s first negotiating cluster on 16 June, Magyar reiterated Hungary would only approve the move if Ukraine restored the linguistic and cultural rights of the Hungarian minority in its Transcarpathia region.

Technical talks with Kyiv are “promising”, Magyar added, ahead of a potential meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(cs)