EU ministers have approved a new recovery and resilience plan for Hungary that could unlock about €10 billion in EU funding, made up of roughly €6.5 billion in grants and around €3.5 billion in loans.
The plan sits under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) — the main funding programme within NextGenerationEU, the bloc’s temporary recovery instrument launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council of the EU announced on Friday.
Hungary submitted a new plan after its previous one became “no longer achievable”, with delays in meeting required milestones and higher costs linked to energy price volatility and other developments.
The Council said the new plan includes measures linked to protecting the EU’s financial interests during implementation, strengthening Hungary’s anti-corruption framework, increasing transparency around public resources and public procurement, and improving the involvement of stakeholders and social partners in the legislative process.
It also includes measures to strengthen judicial independence and the rule of law in Hungary.
Payments under the scheme are performance-based — meaning the European Commission disburses money only when agreed milestones and targets have been met.
Changes also approved for eight countries
Alongside Hungary’s plan, the Council approved targeted amendments to the national recovery plans of Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
The European Commission’s analysis found the changes did not affect the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency or coherence of those countries’ overall plans.
More than €429 billion has been paid out through the Recovery and Resilience Facility so far, according to the Council, and member states must complete the reforms and investments in their plans by the end of August 2026 to fully benefit.
