BUDAPEST, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Hungary has completed the legislative and institutional measures required to unlock around 10 billion euros (about 11.6 billion U.S. dollars) in previously frozen funds from the European Union's (EU) Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Transportation and Investment Minister David Vitezy said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference in Budapest, Vitezy said the government had met all the milestones and "super milestones" agreed with the European Commission following a political agreement reached in May between Prime Minister Peter Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to the minister, more than 100 pieces of legislation were adopted during the process, alongside the establishment of new institutions and the launch or completion of several projects. He said much of the legislative work concerned anti-corruption measures required for access to the funds.
"The prime minister tasked me with making sure that we leave not a single euro cent behind and bring home all the available funds. I can report that we succeeded," Vitezy said.
He added that the government now intends to use the funds primarily for railway modernization, affordable housing and student accommodation, water-management projects aimed at mitigating increasingly frequent droughts, and investments in renewable energy and the electricity grid.
Significant portions of EU funding for Hungary were frozen under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government over EU concerns about corruption, public procurement and rule-of-law issues.
The Magyar government made restoring access to frozen EU funds one of its priorities after taking office earlier this year, and has introduced a series of institutional and legislative changes aimed at meeting the European Commission's conditions. ■