In a letter, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán informed Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, of the Hungarian government's decision, according to which Hungary is requesting the European Commission to draw down the credit line provided by the Recovery and Resilience Building Facility.

- Bertalan Havasi, the head of the Prime Minister's Press Office, informed MTI on Tuesday, also providing the full text of the letter.

The press chief reminded: war is raging at Hungary's borders; in the past few weeks alone, nearly half a million Ukrainian war refugees have arrived in Hungary, and the government expects a multiple of that number in the next period. He added: the economic effects of the war and the sanctions are a heavy burden on the Hungarian economy. The extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures, which is why the Hungarian government has decided to ask the European Commission to draw down the credit line provided by the Recovery and Resilience Building Facility.

In the letter sent to MTI and addressed to the President of the European Commission, Viktor Orbán states:

the war raging in Ukraine presents an unprecedented challenge to the member states of the European Union. The security risks, the burden of the humanitarian crisis, the economic consequences of the conflict and the negative effects of EU sanctions are borne to a significant extent by the countries protecting the eastern borders of the European Union

- written by.

According to Viktor Orbán

"extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. Hungary is prepared and able to withstand the crisis. So far, we have received more than 450,000 people fleeing war and war. We provide humanitarian aid to those who come to us and to those in need living in Transcarpathia. We have strengthened the protection of our eastern borders. We do all this in the name of humanity, for the peace and security of the entire European Union".

The Hungarian Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that in crisis situations it is particularly important to preserve the unity of the European Union and the common responsibility that connects the member states. In the spirit of this , Hungary is only asking that it be able to get access to the EU funds allocated to it as soon as possible and effectively, and to use them flexibly for the purposes best suited to dealing with the crisis, he said.

Viktor Orbán requested that the European Commission approve, out of sequence, the Recovery and Resilience Building Plans, Partnership Agreements and operational programs of the member states protecting the eastern borders of the European Union. He also requested that the Commission enable the rapid, targeted and flexible use of EU budget resources by lifting pre-financing, co-financing and reallocation limitations.

In his letter, the Prime Minister reminded: 30 percent of the subsidies that can be used until the end of 2026 within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Building Tool must be redistributed by June 30, 2022 in light of the current economic growth indicators. The redistribution would result in a loss of resources for all the member states protecting the eastern borders of the European Union, which in the case of some member states could reach up to 16 percent of the available subsidies.

This is unacceptable, underlined Viktor Orbán, asking for a review of the redistribution system and to ensure that the member states bearing the brunt of the war crisis and at the same time contributing significantly to the economic growth of the European Union do not lose EU funds.

"In addition to the development needs set out in the Recovery and Resilience Building Plan and regardless of its approval process, Hungary requests the immediate availability of the credit line provided in the Recovery and Resilience Building Instrument for the performance of defense, border management, humanitarian and other acute crisis management tasks. Under the current circumstances, these are the most important development areas in terms of strengthening our resilience. The European Union can provide real and meaningful help if it provides resources that can be used immediately and flexibly for these purposes," wrote Viktor Orbán in a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission and sent to the President and members of the European Council and the President of the European Parliament.

Speaking to Hungarian journalists, Judit Varga reminded that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán informed Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, in a letter on Tuesday about the Hungarian government's decision, according to which Hungary requests the European Commission to draw down the credit line provided by the Recovery and Resilience Building Facility.

The Minister of Justice said: they fled the war in Ukraine, and the economic effects of the conflict and the sanctions put a heavy burden on Hungary and Russia.

He stated:

it cannot be allowed that the effects of the war on the frontline countries are not taken into account by the European Commission. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt the Hungarian program enabling the drawing of EU fund resources as soon as possible

– highlighted Judit Varga.

There is also a need for flexibility in the use of the fund, as the EU money must also be able to be used for the reception of refugees, Judit Varga added.

Source: demokrata.hu