EU decisions regarding Hungary reportedly postponed until the election

HUNGARY - In Brief 16 Jan 2026 by Istvan Racz

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Early this week, the President of the Republic officially called the parliamentary election for April 12, the earliest legally possible date, in line with long-time expectation, but running counter to some local speculations that PM Orbán may act to postpone the election if developments are not found favourable from Fidesz' point of view. On the same day, Euronews.com reported, referring to unnamed 'sources at the European Commission', that decisions on Hungarian matters had been essentially suspended within the EU until after the election, as they do not like PM Orbán's frequent negative references to the EU's alleged wish to interfere with the Hungarian election, and they do not want to provide him with ammunition for the election campaign, in case of any potentially negative decision.This is unofficial and unconfirmed at this point. But should the information be correct, it would mean, among other things, that Hungary could not get approval for its request to regroup €4bn out of its RRF quota, for the recapitalisation of MFB, the government's own development finance institution, and also that it could not be able to get approval for its request for €16.2bn of low-cost SAFE loans, out of the first pillar of the 'EU's ReArm Europe Plan / Readiness 2030' program.As to the capital injection into MFB out of RRF, this appears to be a somewhat hopeless attempt by the government anyway, as the RRF is currently fully blocked for Hungary, due to rule-of-law concerns. However, the decision on Hungary's request for SAFE loans is a different matter. On this, Hungary received a preliminary allocation of the requested €16.2bn amount, and the government handed in its investment pro...