Hungary eyes ‘better cooperation’ with EU in funds row: minister

Hungary is hoping “better cooperation” with the European Commission will unlock billions of euros (dollars) of held-up funds, according to the minister in charge of the negotiations, as its economy struggles.

Brussels has so far refused to approve post-Covid recovery funds for Budapest, citing concerns over rule of law and alleged corruption, making Hungary the only EU member not yet to have received the green light.

“There are obviously areas of disagreement between Budapest and the European Union at a high political level, but I think much better cooperation is possible in day-to-day exchanges,” Tibor Navracsics, a minister in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s cabinet, told AFP in an interview this week.