Commission set to approve Hungary’s €10bn in post-pandemic recovery fund next week

The European Commission is set to approve almost all of Hungary’s €10 billion allocation from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) later this month, Commission officials have confirmed to Euronews.Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who swept to power in a landslide election victory in April, campaigned on a promise to unlock EU funds frozen during Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in office.In May, Magyar and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to release €16.4 billion that had been withheld over rule-of-law and corruption concerns under Orbán’s government.Of that total, €10 billion is due from the EU’s post-pandemic RRF, which expires later this year. All payments have to be authorised by the end of November, to be paid before the end of the year.Hungary announced in late August that it had met the EU’s conditions for payment, despite the substantial delays accumulated under Orbán. The Commission launched a verification process shortly afterwards.An official familiar with the file, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Commission expects to complete its remaining RRF assessments, including Hungary’s, by the end of November.In Hungary's case, the Commission “has not identified major obstacles”, which could mean Budapest receives 100 per cent, or close to it, of the requested amount.Euronews understands that the assessment could be published as early as next week.As Euronews reported in May, one of…