Von der Leyen aims at 'swift' progress with Magyar. Here's what's still blocked

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has called for "swift" advancement successful restoring ties betwixt Brussels and Budapest pursuing Péter Magyar’s predetermination victory, which ended Viktor Orbán’s 16 years successful power.

With astir votes counted, Magyar and his Tisza enactment are acceptable to triumph a super-majority successful the Hungarian parliament, which helium would request to undo the far-reaching reforms enacted by the premier curate successful his self-styled "illiberal" democracy.

"Today, Europe is Hungarian, without immoderate question. The radical of Hungary person spoken, and they person reclaimed their European path. It is simply a triumph for cardinal freedoms," von der Leyen said connected Monday afternoon, hailing the results.

"With this result, our national is stronger, our national is much united. It was an exceptional evening yesterday. Of course, we volition commencement moving with the authorities arsenic soon arsenic imaginable (...) to marque swift and overdue advancement to the payment of the people," she added.

"There's overmuch enactment to beryllium done, arsenic Hungary is coming backmost to the European path."

Von der Leyen said contacts betwixt Brussels and Budapest volition statesman "immediately" but the main signifier of rapprochement volition person to hold until Magyar formally takes office, which is expected to hap successful mid-May.

Von der Leyen and Magyar beryllium to the aforesaid governmental family, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), but the Hungarian person kept a region from the Commission main during his run to debar attacks by Orbán's camp.

In his triumph speech, Magyar vowed to interruption Russia's power implicit the state and bring Hungary backmost into the European mainstream. He also asked respective high-ranking officials, whom helium deemed "Orbán's puppets", to permission their posts immediately.

"Hungary volition erstwhile again beryllium a beardown state representing Hungarian interests, due to the fact that our country's spot is successful Europe," Magyar said.

Brussels volition beryllium his 3rd sojourn aft Warsaw and Vienna, helium announced.

"You tin already spot that he's precise wide connected the European path," von der Leyen said.

Focus connected the money

The reset of relations is intended to crook the leafage connected Viktor Orbán's disruptive premiership, which radically reshaped Hungary's spot successful the 27-member bloc.

The European Commission keeps astir €17 cardinal frozen successful cohesion and COVID betterment funds owed to an array of ineligible challenges with Budapest connected the regularisation of law, judicial independence, world freedom, asylum instrumentality and LGBTQ+ rights.

At the aforesaid time, Hungary is deprived of €1 cardinal successful EU funds per day for refusing to destruct its long-standing restrictions connected asylum procedures.

Separately, Budapest is waiting for the Commission's greenish airy for its €16 cardinal defence program nether SAFE, a loan-backed programme.

For Magyar, the merchandise of the European wealth is simply a apical priority. The incoming premier curate believes the super-majority volition assistance him walk the reforms and meet the criteria that the Commission has established arsenic a precondition for unfreezing.

"We volition bring location the EU funds that are owed to the Hungarian people," helium said successful his triumph code among supporters waving European flags.

On Monday, von der Leyen expressed her anticipation that Magyar would marque bully of his "public comments" and extended her limb to resoluteness the thorny matter.

"For me, it's precise important that we enactment intensively with the caller Hungarian authorities connected funds (and reforms) that person to beryllium delivered," she said.

"Because the Hungarian radical merit it."

The script has parallels with the triumph of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk successful precocious 2023, which aboriginal led to the merchandise of €137 cardinal successful EU funds.

A agelong to-do list

While Magyar has an oculus connected the frozen EU funds, determination is overmuch much connected the to-do database that Orbán leaves behind.

The different subordinate states expect the caller premier curate to promptly assistance Orbán's contentious veto connected the €90 cardinal indebtedness for Ukraine. The blockage has infuriated different leaders, who spot it arsenic a blatant breach of the rule of sincere cooperation.

During the campaign, Orbán made the indebtedness conditional connected the resumption of lipid deliveries done the Druzhba pipeline, claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was keeping it deliberately unopen to interfere successful the elections. Hungary, unneurotic with Slovakia, is blocking the 20th bundle of sanctions against Russia for the aforesaid reason.

Zelenskyy said past week that the repair of Druzhbawould beryllium implicit "this spring" and that the work for the proviso would prevarication "with the Europeans".

It is not wide if Magyar intends to support Orbán's information successful speech for approval.

Diplomats privation the indebtedness swiftly released to shield Ukraine from making achy cuts to its wartime fund and the sanctions enforced to weaken Russia's vigor revenues, which person soared arsenic a effect of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Cyprus, the state presently holding the EU Council's rotating presidency, intends to enactment the indebtedness and the sanctions connected the array "as soon arsenic the conditions licence it, with a presumption to a swift decision of some files", a Cyprus authoritative said.

Other pending files are Ukraine's accession process, which Orbán vehemently opposed, and €6.6 cardinal successful subject assistance for Kyiv arsenic portion of the European Peace Facility (EPF).