The opposition leader in Hungary promises to release EU funds if elected

Peter Magyar, the leader of the Hungarian opposition, promised on Sunday to organize a referendum on Ukraine’s membership in the 27-member EU and to release billions of euros in frozen European Union money to boost the country’s economy if elected next year.

Due to rising threats to fiscal stability from trade disputes, decreased EU funding inflows, and high debt payment costs as the budget loosens in anticipation of a 2026 election, Standard & Poor’s downgraded Hungary’s credit rating outlook from stable to negative late Friday.

Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been in power since 2010 and has been embroiled in a number of ongoing disputes with the EU over rule-of-law reforms. As a result, financing has been suspended, which has had a negative impact on the economy, which has been burdened by years of high inflation.

Following two years of near stagnation and further threats to Hungary’s export-dependent economy from U.S. tariffs on EU imports, some polls indicate that Magyar’s center-right Tisza Party has surpassed Orban’s nationalist Fidesz.

“Hungary will once more be a dependable and proud NATO ally. After presenting the findings of a statewide survey that he claimed would serve as the foundation for a government agenda, Magyar assured supporters that Hungary will once more be a full member of the EU.

Although Orban’s administration anticipates a 2.5% increase in economic growth this year, S&P predicts only a 1.5% expansion, capping the lowest three-year period preceding a national election in Orban’s 15-year tenure.

Magyar said that a stable economic policy would lower the cost of debt financing. “Unlocking the EU funds alone could boost the economy by at least 1%, which would yield an additional 800 billion forints ($2.22 billion) for the budget,” he said.

Magyar evaluated the survey’s findings and said that since Ukraine’s EU membership was a contentious issue, he would call a legally binding referendum on the matter once the specific requirements for Ukraine’s admission were known.

Orban, who has vehemently opposed giving Ukraine EU funding and NATO military support, claims that Hungarian farmers and the country’s economy as a whole would be destroyed if Ukraine joined the EU.