“We are glad that the European Union and the government have reached an agreement,” Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony told a press conference on Tuesday in reaction to news that Hungary’s EU recovery funding is likely to be unblocked.
The government is “now obliged” to meet the bloc’s requirements before the funds can actually be accessed, the mayor added. Karácsony said he was glad that Hungary would receive grants from the recovery fund, and urged the government that it should use the mechanism’s loan component, too. Money borrowed under the mechanism could be used in full to rebuild the country’s energy system, he added. Karácsony, who is co-leader of the Association of Hungarian Municipalities (MÖSZ), said the funds should also go to local councils, adding that “reducing Hungary’s dependence on Russian gas and completing a green transition could hardly be possible without changing municipal energy provision”. Answering a question, Karácsony said “ideally” the recovery funds should be divided up equally between central investment projects, private investment projects, and municipal services.
hungarymatters.hu
