Hungary's new government should push through reforms, including on the rule of law, for its own good and to benefit its citizens, not just to unlock frozen EU funds, Michael McGrath, the EU’s Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, told Euronews.
The country's Prime Minister Péter Magyar will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday. He is seeking to unlock €10 billion in recovery funds, blocked over longstanding concerns about judicial independence, corruption and democratic backsliding during former leader Viktor Orbán’s years in power, ahead of an August deadline.
McGrath stressed, however, that implementing reforms is not merely about satisfying Brussels but about restoring rights and opportunities for Hungarians themselves.
“It's not that they need to do this for the EU. They need to do this for themselves and for the Hungarian people so that they can enjoy the rights and benefits and freedoms and privileges that European Union membership confers on people,” he said on Euronews' flagship programme The Europe Conversation.
He specifically cited Hungarian students who lost access to parts of the EU’s Erasmus exchange program because of governance concerns linked to public foundations established under the previous government.
