Hungary opposes current EU budget proposal in Brussels

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has declared the European Union's long-term budget proposal ‘unacceptable in its current form’ during an EU summit in Brussels. While the Irish Presidency has maintained existing frameworks for agricultural and cohesion policies, Magyar stated that the expected contributions from Hungary and other cohesion-recipient nations remain too high.

Magyar noted that although the Cypriot Presidency increased Hungary's ‘national envelope’ from 30 billion to 31 billion euros, he maintains this is insufficient. He emphasized that the focus should not only be on absolute figures but also on how funds are utilized and how the EU might block access to them. He indicated that Hungary, alongside other leaders in a group convened by Giorgia Meloni, is prepared to veto the proposal in December if an agreement is not reached.

The summit also addresses competitiveness, energy prices, migration, and support for Ukraine. Domestically, the presentation of Hungary's next-year budget draft to Parliament has been rescheduled to October 19 or 20 due to the ongoing Brussels negotiations.