At today’s government info session, Minister of Regional Development Tibor Navracsics and Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyás announced that more than €5.8 billion (HUF 2.4 trillion) of funding has been approved for Hungary to be used for renewable energy projects and digitalization projects over the next two years.
Minister Navracsics added that for other operative programs HUF 14 trillion can be expected, of which HUF 4 trillion has already been approved.
Regarding the other two topics that had prevented an agreement from being reached, the EU unequivocally decided to dismiss the notion of a shared loan scheme, agreeing to simply allocate the funds needed from its budget, and Hungary was exempt from the global minimum tax.
Navracsics said that “our negotiating strategy was clear from the start,” and as both hurdles of the recently added requirements have been adjusted to fit Hungary’s proposals “we have achieved all the goals we set ourselves in June.”
The cooperation will continue from January, with the new deadline of March to enact the legislative changes the EU proposed in order to obtain the rest of the amount withheld.
On that note, Minister Gulyás said that domestic affairs, namely the issue of higher wages for teachers, is on the table; even though “the Hungarian left is working to ensure that this is not the case,” he reassured everyone that “as soon as there is money, there will be a pay raise for teachers.”