Hungary will apply to the European Commission for a €3.9 billion loan from the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), MTI reports.

The documents will be sent to the executive in Brussels before the deadline, Hungary’s Minister of Regional Development said on Thursday during an event organized in Budapest. Tibor Navracic said that the request for a loan of 3.9 billion euros will continue to be made to finance energy infrastructure, energy efficiency programs and green transition projects.

The Hungarian minister clarified that this plan was the subject of a public discussion that lasted until August 11, and after the evaluation of the European Commission, the relevant projects will be made public.

When asked when this line of credit will be opened, Tibor Navrachiks could not answer, saying only that the program will be sent in time. The Hungarian minister stated that the RRF projects should be completed by the end of summer 2026.

Regarding the EU funds allocated to Hungary, the minister clarified: the European Commission has not yet given an official assessment of the Hungarian government’s response to the EU’s objections to the rule of law in Hungary.

Regarding the Erasmus program, Tibor Navrachiks noted that funding for this program is secured until the second half of 2024, and negotiations are ongoing. If an agreement can be reached by the end of November, Erasmus funds will continue to be paid after the second half of 2024, while there is no such hard deadline for cohesion funds.

As soon as an assessment on the issue of the rule of law is received, the funds will become available,” said the Hungarian minister.

The rector of Semmelweis University, Bela Merkeli, noted on this topic that the medical higher education institution appealed to the Court of the European Union in the case of the delay of funds allocated to the Erasmus program. The rector noted that exclusion from the program seriously damages the reputation of the institution headed by him.

This is a political issue, and in the case of Semmelweis University, there was no politician on the board of directors, and there was no suspicion that the use of public funds was opaque, Chancellor Bela Merkeli said. (MTI absorption Rador)