The top legal adviser to the European Court of Justice has said the European Commission should not have released about €10bn in EU funds to Hungary. Advocate general Tamara Ćapeta argued that Hungary failed to fully implement the judicial reforms required to unlock the money.
The commission had frozen the funds in 2022 over concerns about corruption and rule-of-law backsliding under prime minister Viktor Orbán. In 2023, it decided Hungary had met the conditions and lifted the suspension. The European Parliament challenged that move, claiming the commission made serious legal errors and acted with insufficient transparency.
Ćapeta said the commission wrongly assessed Hungary’s judicial reforms and allowed payments without proper justification. While her opinion is not binding, judges often follow such advice. A final ruling is expected in the coming months.
If the court sides with parliament, the commission may need to recover funds by reducing future payments. The decision could set an important precedent for how EU institutions enforce rule-of-law standards across member states.
