By the time the funding was suspended, the managing authority had already disbursed about 80% of the total amount to beneficiaries, and had settled 557 billion forints with the Commission by last December.

Thus, the decision has cleared the way for the disbursement of more than 100 billion forints, the paper said.

The move came at the best possible time for Hungary’s central budget, the paper said, as fresh data shows a gap of about 500 billion forints as of the end of August between European Union funding not yet drawn down and monies disbursed in advance.

Market observers believe the reopening of the Brussels money tap could also make an impact on the government debt in addition to the central budget balance, the paper added.

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