The Hungary reset: Magyar in Brussels chasing EU funds

Summary

Brussels Playbook Podcast

Episode: The Hungary reset: Magyar in Brussels chasing EU funds
Date: April 29, 2026
Host: Zoya Sheftalovich (POLITICO), with Sarah Wheaton

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Episode Overview

Today’s episode dives into the dramatic efforts by Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, to secure urgently-needed EU funds, as he rushes to Brussels before even taking office. The episode also tackles the EU's debate on Russia’s return to global sports and cultural events amid ongoing war, and concludes with new, sobering data on Europe’s climate. The hosts wrap up with listener messages on social media regulation and a lighter moment featuring a podcast listener's pet.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Péter Magyar’s Brussels Blitz: Unlocking EU Funds

• Urgency of Magyar’s Mission

  • Magyar, not yet officially the Hungarian PM, is meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to accelerate the unblocking of €17 billion in frozen EU funds, including €10 billion in COVID recovery funds set to expire August 31.
  • “The guy is not wasting any time and he's got a deadline.” — Sarah Wheaton (01:34)

• Legacy of Orban and the Road Ahead

  • Hungary faces skepticism due to “16 years of Viktor Orban’s kind of messing around with Hungary's democracy, rule of law, procurement...” — Zoya Sheftalovich (01:52)
  • Magyar comes with a “supermajority of over two-thirds” in Parliament, which means he can deliver reforms, but must show progress—not just plans—to convince the Commission.
  • The EU’s caution is informed by the experience with Poland, where funds were unlocked on promises, but “two years later, we're still waiting for those reforms to be implemented.” — Zoya (02:37)

• Commission’s Calculated Caution

  • The Commission faces a “once bitten, twice shy situation” but aims to “encourage him… not repeat the Poland experience by giving him the cash too early” — Sarah (03:16)
  • Previous back-channel meetings included Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, showing high-level engagement ahead of Magyar’s in-person visit.

• What Would Constitute a Win?

  • Magyar aims for an announcement, but “whether or not they're able to get to the point where they can announce it today is really not determined yet.” — Zoya (05:55)
  • “Magyar is a showman. He loves to do big splashy videos on social media. So I think he's definitely keen for something to be announced...” — Zoya (06:29)
  • A new national plan for Hungary's post-COVID recovery cash will be submitted in late May—details to come.

• EU Political Divisions on Hungary

  • European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber supports helping Hungary and dropping Article 7 proceedings.
  • Greens and rule of law advocates demand “concrete results” before lifting Article 7, which can strip a country’s EU voting rights (05:06).

Key Quotes

• “Article 7 is that thing where you can remove voting rights from an EU country… the nuclear option.” — Zoya (05:20)
• “There are some things we can absolutely do... We're working with these Orban folks who are still in office... But there are certain things, particularly when it comes to constitutional reforms, which might take us more time.” — Zoya summarizing Magyar’s pitch (04:10)

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2. EU Debate: Normalizing Russia in Sport and Culture

• Context

  • This afternoon, the European Parliament debates the danger of letting Russia participate in sports and cultural events while the war in Ukraine continues. (07:27)
  • “Gianni Infantini has hinted that perhaps Russia should be allowed back into football... the International Olympic Committee say that junior Russian athletes should be allowed to compete under their flag.” — Zoya (08:01)

• Focus: Venice Biennale Controversy

  • The Biennale’s decision to host a Russian pavilion, supported in part by EU funds, sparked uproar.
  • EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, declared the EU would cut funding; MEPs back the move.
  • The Biennale president defended the stance as creating “a space of truce, where art prevails over geopolitics” (08:32).

• Commission Position

  • Culture and Sports Commissioner Glenn McAuliffe will argue participation isn’t justified:
    • “Sport does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects who we are and what we choose to stand for. And letting aggressors return to global football as if nothing happened ignores real security risks and deep pain caused by the war.” — Zoya, quoting McAuliffe (09:00)

Memorable Moment

• “Well, that’s a controversial take from the president of the Biennale.” — Zoya (08:44)

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3. Europe’s Climate Crisis Escalates

• Headline Findings

  • The World Meteorological Organization and EU scientists’ annual assessment found that 2025 was among Europe’s warmest years.
  • “Up to 99% of Europe saw higher than normal temperatures last year… first time almost the entire continent saw above average annual temperatures.” — Zoya (09:37)

• Extreme Events

  • 2025 brought “record wildfires, significant glacier shrinkage and widespread drought.” — Sarah (09:57)
  • Scientists now brace for a “major El Niño event,” possibly pushing temps even higher.

• Possible ‘Super El Niño’

  • El Niño pattern will further intensify climate impacts already worsened by human-caused global warming.
  • “Some experts are even warning that this one could be super El Niño.” — Sarah (10:17)

Notable Quote

• “What I'm hearing is I need to invest in better quality air conditioning for the office.” — Zoya (10:38)

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4. Social Media Regulation & Listener Feedback

• Listener Views on Age Verification

  • Henning from Germany worries age restrictions “take the responsibility away from social media companies” and the Australian model is “bananas” and a “privacy risk to kids” (11:28).
  • Reflection that Europe has “the GDPR and really hold that sacred”—Sarah (11:35).

• Youth and Social Media Adoption

  • 21-year-old listener from Italy, Guadalina, feels lucky to be “the last generation to grow up without social media.” (11:40)

• Lighthearted Social Media Banter

  • Playful confusion about which platforms are trendy: “Discord, Twitch, Whip Snap.” “You made that up.” — Sarah (12:04)

Fun and Memorable Moment

• Listener sent a picture of their adopted Bosnian dog, James Henri II, who may make a star turn on the podcast's social media.
• “James Henri is… majestic. Truly, listeners.” — Zoya (13:08)

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Timestamps: Key Segments

• Magyar’s Mission in Brussels: 00:27 – 07:27
• EU Parliament Debate on Russia: 07:27 – 09:23
• Climate Report: 09:23 – 10:38
• Listener Messages on Social Media/Age Verification: 10:47 – 12:29
• Dog Pics and Wrap-up: 13:08 – 13:39

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Tone and Delivery

Conversational, fast-paced, blending serious reporting (“the guy is not wasting any time and he’s got a deadline”) with lighthearted banter (“Get your SPF folks,” “Keep them coming, folks. Dog pics, cats, babies. Send them wholesome content”).

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For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode offers timely insight into Hungary’s high-stakes EU reset, the divided Brussels response, and the broader context of political and climate shifts across Europe. The show combines political scoops, real-world analysis, and community interaction—essential listening with both substance and personality.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Good morning. It's Wednesday, April 29, and this is the Brussels Playbook podcast. The vibe in Brussels today is fast tracked as Peter Magiar, the incoming Hungarian Prime Minister, is rushing into town in a bid to unblock frozen EU funding. Also on the pod, the European Parliament will debate the danger of normalizing Russia's participation in sports and cultural events. And finally, the EU is releasing its annual assessment of the continent's climate. And summarized in two words, it's hot, sweltering. Absolutely. I can attest to that. Sitting at the window in my Brussels office. I thought I was going to die,

[C]

Sarah, but fortunately you have persisted.

[B]

I'm Zoya Shiftanlovich and with me today is policy editor Sarah Wheaton. Hey, Sarah, Good to be back with you. Zoya, let's get straight into it. The incoming Hungarian Prime Minister, Peter Magia, he is in Brussels today and he's going to be meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. And that's before he's even been sworn in. Sarah.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, the guy is not wasting any time and he's got a deadline. Look, he, he needs to unlock around 17 billion euros in frozen EU funds. Of that, about 10 billion in Covid recovery money, and that expires on August 31. Summer feels far away still. And yet.

[B]

Well, he's got a lot of work to do. He needs to undo 16 years of Victor or Barnes kind of messing around with Hungary's democracy, rule of law, procurement, all sorts of areas. So there's a lot of work for him to do. He needs to do it quickly. And it's not just this August 31st deadline that would be weighing on him. It's also the fact that Hungary desperately needs the cash. It is stuck in some economic doldrums and people are really crying out for money. And they voted for him in based on this promise that he was going to get that EU cash unfrozen. So it's important for him politically to get some wins.

[C]

So of course, in that respect, it totally makes sense that he's rushing over here. But like, the guy is not even in Charge yet, you know, Hungary, Hungary still technically run by the Orban administration.

[B]

Yeah, look, he's not fully in charge yet, but the bottom line is, is that he needs to get these reforms rolling. He does have this super majority of over two thirds of the Parliament which means he can pass really kind of ambitious reforms. But, but the problem is that, you know, you need the time to actually implement them. It's not just a question of passing them because the European Commission is now quite wary about releasing money based on promises or kind of plans that are in play unless it starts seeing results. Because of the example set by Poland. When Donald Tusk won the election, the EU unleashed all of the funding that had been holding back. But now two years later, we're still waiting for those reforms to be implemented.

[C]

Yeah, it really is this once bitten, twice shy situation. But still the Commission does want to encourage him. They don't want to repeat the Poland experience by giving him the cash too early, but they do want to kind of cheer him on and help him sort out what he needs to do.

[B]

Yeah, and this is why he's coming to Brussels. So actually it's not the first meeting between Magiar and his team and key Commission folks. There have been two prior meetings. One was just this past weekend on Saturday. The other One was on the 18th and 19th of April, where basically some of the head honchos in the European Commission, including Bjorn Seibert, who is Ursula von der Leyen's right hand man, her cabinet chief, they met with some of the most senior incoming members of Magyar's team. And really the point of those meetings was to figure out what Hungary needs to do, what Magyar needs to do to get this money unblocked. Now Maggie himself is coming to Brussels. He's meeting with von der Leyen. And the goal of that is in part to sort of figure out what are must dos in order to get this funding unfrozen and what are nice to haves. And basically he needs to give the message to the Commission like, hey, there are some things we can absolutely do. And here is what we're already doing. We're working with these Auburn folks who are still in office. We're getting things moving on all sorts of grounds. But there are certain things, particularly when it comes to constitutional reforms which might take us more time. So they really want to get a sense from von der Lyon what she absolutely needs them to do and, and what maybe there's a little bit of

[C]

leeway on and we are seeing politically a debate in Brussels about how far to go. I mean, in your piece this morning you have that Manfred Weber, the European People's Party chief, is openly supportive. He's now saying that this is the moment to help Hungary and not criticize it. He wants the EU to drop its Article 7 procedure. But not everybody is so ready to just give Magyar the seal of approval.

[B]

This reporting is from Max Greer, our colleague who's in Strasbourg at the moment. But he's also been talking to others and the Greens and other rule of law advocates. They say, hey, we've got to hold the line. You cannot remove this Article 7 threat from Hungary until the reforms are actually made. And just as a reminder to our listeners, Article 7 is that thing where you can remove voting rights from an EU country in the European Council. It's a really crucial kind of non known as the nuclear option tool. And this procedure has been ongoing since 2018 when the European Parliament triggered it. So basically what these folks in the parliament are saying, in the Greens in particular, they're saying, hey, we've got to keep this on the table for now until we see concrete results.

[C]

Speaking of those concrete results, or at least some deliverables, are we expecting anything that can be announced or presented as a win later today?

[B]

Well, that's a great question, Sarah. It's a tough one to answer. I've been speaking with people here in Strasbourg. We've got colleagues who've been speaking with people in Budapest. Where we've got to is we think that probably Magia does want to announce something. But whether or not they're able to get to the point where they can announce it today is really not determined yet. I think a lot will ride on what happens during this meeting with von der Leyen. So actually one of the elements in the story, a little scooplet that we've got in the story that's out this morning, is that Magyar is actually going to be presenting a new national plan for Hungary to get this Covid recovery cash in late May. And part of that will kind of distill some of the things that Hungary will need to do. And he'll be making some changes to a national plan that Viktor Orban presented the commission in 2021. So I think a lot will ride on what's in in the plan when he previews what the Magyar team might be doing. So basically what I would say in response to that is they would like to announce something. Magyar is a showman. He loves to do big splashy videos on social media. So I think he's definitely keen for something to be announced and what that might be is really a question that has been left open. I doubt it's going to be anything significant like, oh, yes, we're unfreezing all of the money right now, but there might be something tasty for Maggie to take home to his voters.

[C]

Worst comes to worst, you always fall back on a framework for a roadmap for a strategic dialogue, guidelines.

[B]

Oh, you're speaking the EU's language, Sarah. Our second story today, it's about a debate that's going to happen in the European Parliament this afternoon. It's on the dangers of normalising Russia's participation in sports and cultural events. And the Culture and sports commissioner, Glenn McAuliffe, he's going to be fronting up and debating MEPs. And it's basically in response to the fact that certain organizations have been softening their stance on Russia competing. And, and that's happened despite the fact that Russia is still waging full scale war in Ukraine. And some examples of that are. Gianni Infantini has hinted that perhaps Russia should be allowed back into football. And we've had the Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, say that junior Russian athletes should be allowed to compete under their flag. Plus there is the Venice Biennale.

[C]

Yeah, and that was really the big one. It sparked criticism across Europe. They said that they would host a Russia pavilion for the first time since the full scale invasion of Ukraine. And the thing that's so controversial about this one is does actually get EU funding. EU foreign policy chief Kayakallis said the EU would cut that funding in response, and MEPs have also called for that. But in defense of the decision, the Biennale president said that the exhibit is, and I quote, a space of truce, where art prevails over geopolitics.

[B]

Well, that's a controversial take from the president of the Biennale. In any case, the MEPs are going to be debating this this afternoon. And we can safely say that Claire McAuliffe is, is not on board with letting the Russians compete because he said previously that actually sport does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects who we are and what we choose to stand for. And letting aggressors return to global football as if nothing happened ignores real security risks and deep pain caused by the war. So McAuliffe, he's not on board. So there's a report out today on the state of Europe's climate and it's not looking good.

[C]

No, it's not. There's a yearly assessment conducted by the World Meteorological Organization along with EU scientists and it found that 2025 last year was one of Europe's warmest years on record.

[B]

Yeah, and the details are pretty concerning. So depending on the data set used, up to 99% of Europe saw higher than normal temperatures last year. And it was the first time that almost the entire continent saw above average annual temperatures. And which I think it checks out based on how steamy last year was. I think we can all safely say it was a pretty big one.

[C]

And it's not just heat. I mean, included extreme weather events like record wildfires, significant glacier shrinkage and widespread drought.

[B]

Yeah, and now scientists are actually bracing for a major El Nino event, which could mean that global temperatures could soar even higher next year. So that's a bit worrying. Yeah.

[C]

And El Nino, of course, is this naturally occurring climate pattern, but it tends to intensify the effects of human caused global warming. And so it's happening later in the year. Already 2024 had been the hottest year on record because of El Nino. And some experts are even warning that this one could be super El Nino.

[B]

What I'm hearing is I need to invest in better quality air conditioning for the office. Sarah, it is so hot. Okay, well, get your SPF folks.

[C]

AC on Zoya.

[B]

AC on Zoya. SPF on our faces. All right, Sarah, I don't know if you've been tuning into the podcast, but we've had some controversial topics. I heard, I heard almost as bad as Halloumi, Gate, Shopgate. Shopgate. Yeah, we've received some pretty lengthy messages also about our question on age verification apps which we put out and social media use among young people. Yesterday, Sarah, we had Henning from Germany write in and. And he reckons that age restrictions, if you implement them, they take the responsibility away from social media companies because they will no longer be held accountable for the content they push out to audience. And he reckons it's bananas that the Australia models uses the age of children determined by their data trail online. He reckons that's a privacy risk to kids.

[C]

Definitely value difference with Europe, where we had the GDPR and really hold that sacred.

[B]

Yeah, well, not so sacred because we're unwinding it as we speak. Sarah Guadalina From Italy, she's 21 and she says that she considers herself lucky to be the last generation to grow up without social media. 21. How did she avoid it?

[C]

And what's her secret?

[B]

Yeah, I don't know. I think she'd be all over Snapchat, Instagram, Tick Tock. I don't know. What are the young kids doing these days? Discord, Twitch, Whip Snap.

[C]

You made that up. You made these up.

[B]

You wouldn't know, Sarah. I wouldn't know.

[C]

Are you calling me old?

[B]

Dionis, what are kids using these days? You've got kids.

[D]

Snapchat.

[B]

Still Snapchat listener.

[C]

I actually thought Snapchat was for the old, like me.

[B]

I think Snapchat is having a renaissance is what I'm hearing. Giannis is our producer, and he's got kids who are hip. There you go. I've never snapped. Sarah, have you ever snapped?

[C]

Once. It's a good thing it disappeared.

[B]

Or did it? All right, totally unrelated to the social media age limit debate, my favorite message that I got on the WhatsApp line yesterday was from one of our listeners who sent in a picture of themselves. James Henri ii. He's a super cute dog adopted from the streets of Bosnia. He is majestic. Truly, listeners, I don't know if we can do this saga. Who is our other producer? Can we put a picture of James Henri on our socials? Maybe? Let's see about that one. Okay, I'm not going to promise anything, listener, but, like, keep an eye open at least on my socials. I'm going to tweet a picture of James Henri because I think he is just so majestic. He deserves a wider audience.

[C]

I mean, just be careful, though, Zoya. I mean, you're. You're only a few months into hosting a podcast and you're already getting dog pics.

[B]

Keep them coming, folks. Dog pics, Cats, babies. Send them wholesome content. That's what I'm here for. Our WhatsApp line. It's in the show notes. All right, folks, well, that's about it for us today. I'll be back with Ian tomorrow. In the meantime, subscribe like us. Give us a rating.

[C]

Do it.

[B]

Do it now. Bye.

[D]

Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe [e-mail].