Financed through the back door
Hungary wants to take out a loan of 1 billion euros from the EIB to repair its dilapidated railway lines.
According to Transport Minister János Lázár, a total of around 1,200 billion forints (approx. 3 billion euros) will be made available over a period of ten years for the development of the railway infrastructure. Two thirds of this is earmarked for modern railway lines. Half of the funding for this programme was to come from EU transfers; however, because Brussels is withholding funds from Hungary due to concerns about the rule of law, Lázár now wants to involve the EIB.
The money is to be used to upgrade 490 km of railway lines to the highest standards in the first phase. This includes 120 kilometres on which speed restrictions currently apply due to the dilapidated infrastructure.