(Bloomberg) -- Hungarian ministers who’ve assumed powerful positions at public trusts overseeing universities have resigned from those posts to help resolve one of a series of conflicts with the European Union.

Hungary is seeking to unlock EU funds “as soon as possible,” Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas told reporters on Thursday after a three-day government meeting. The EU has cut off Hungary from its flagship Erasmus academic scholarship program as well as crucial university funding, citing political influence over higher education. 

Including Covid-recovery funds, the EU has effectively suspended more than $30 billion in payments due to graft and rule of law concerns. The government would use the more than $10 billion in grants and loans from the recovery fund to finance an energy overhaul, including boosting renewables and reducing dependency on Russia, Gulyas said.

 

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