Hungarian Minister Sees Chance of EU Deal on Pandemic Aid

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary has an at least 50-50 chance of convincing the European Union to release billions of euros in pandemic aid, Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas said.

“I don’t want to get into guessing the odds but I belong to the camp of optimists,” Gulyas told a briefing Wednesday in Budapest. “Let’s just say there’s an at least 50% chance” of a deal.

The European Commission has withheld approval of Hungary’s pandemic plan, arguing it hasn’t done enough to fight graft. The government says the hold-up is due to anti-LGBTQ legislation that’s a major part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban re-election bid but that’s infuriated officials in Brussels and other EU capitals.

Refusing to approve the pandemic aid before Hungary’s election, expected in April 2022, would be tantamount to political interference in the ballot, Gulyas said.

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