From the 2026 budget audit
1.3 milliárd forint for agricultural activity outside Hungary's borders.
A discretionary grant programme supporting cross-border agricultural and rural-development activity — not a rights-protection function, not a constitutional obligation, and not funded by those who benefit.
Roughly 312 Ft per taxpayer per year — 1,282 millió Ft total — for activities beyond Hungary's borders, selected at the discretion of political officeholders.
What you see — and what you don't
The seen: cross-border projects in agricultural and rural development, funded by the Hungarian national budget. The unseen: Hungarian citizens — including those with no connection to the beneficiary territories — funding programmes abroad through their taxes, with no mechanism by which those citizens consent to or benefit from the specific activities chosen.
Objection
"Supporting Hungarian communities and agricultural cooperation across borders is a national priority — it benefits Hungarian heritage and cultural ties."
Answer
Cultural and community ties across borders are maintained by the people who hold them, through voluntary associations, church organisations, and private transfers. A discretionary grant programme run from a ministry selects which cross-border projects receive funding and which do not — a subjective allocation, not a constitutional commitment. The three-year phase-out allows any multi-year project commitments to run their course; it does not prohibit voluntary cross-border cooperation.
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The analyst's verdict
Support for cross-border agricultural and rural-development tasks
Rationale
Support for cross-border agricultural and rural-development activity. This is a discretionary grant programme directed at activity beyond Hungary's borders; it is not a rights-protection function for Hungarian citizens, not an irreversible-harm response, and not a constitutional precondition. It is a subjective allocation by political officeholders. Phase out over three years.
Transition mechanism
Linear phase-out over 3 years to let any multi-year cross-border project commitments run their course.
Affected groups
Recipients of cross-border programme grants.
Free Society Institute
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