EU: Orban Threatens EU Long-Term Budget Unless Funds Unfrozen

Speaking on state radio earlier on 6 Dec, PM Viktor Orban stated that he would veto the EU's next multiannual financial framework (the long-term budget running from 2028) unless EU funds allocated to Hungary are unfrozen. Orban said “Hungary will undoubtedly obtain these funds...The funds we don’t receive in 2025 and 2026 we’ll have to receive in 2027 and 2028 because if we don’t, then the EU won’t have a budget because I won’t agree to it.” The MFF runs for seven years and has to be agreed unanimously. 

• While the threat from Orban may sound severe, it is not the first time the Hungarian leader has threatened to veto various EU packages in an effort to extract concessions only for last-minute compromises avoiding the worst-case scenario. Bloomberg notes, "Investors regularly point to the approximately €20 billion ($21.1 billion) the EU is currently withholding from Hungary as a major vulnerability for the economy. "
• Orban's comments come shortly after opposition leader Petr Magyar made the unfreezing of EU funds a cornerstone of his campaign to remove Orban and his right-wing populist Fidesz in the 2026 legislative election. In a Bloomberg interview, Magyar said “A new government with more predictable economic policies would win back the trust of markets if it doesn’t change laws daily or doesn’t seek to penalize foreign investors. After that, the country’s risk premium will plunge and sovereign debt can be refinanced at a much cheaper level.”
• With ~18 months until the next election opinion polling shows Fidesz and Magyar's TISA contesting first place.