BRUSSELS, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced on Friday that Hungary had reached a political agreement with the European Union on the release of 16.4 billion euros (19.1 billion U.S. dollars) in previously frozen EU funds.
The agreement was reached following talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels and would unlock approximately 6,000 billion forints in EU resources, equivalent to about 13 percent of Hungary's gross domestic product, Magyar said.
He added that Hungary had fulfilled, and in some areas exceeded, the requirements expected by Brussels, citing the country's decision to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), a step that had not been among the formal conditions for accessing the funds.
The Hungarian prime minister traveled to the Belgian capital on Thursday for negotiations with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Belgian and EU officials, and finally von der Leyen to announce a political settlement concerning EU funds that had been withheld from Hungary. ■
