EU UNFREEZES €16.4BN FOR HUNGARY – Brussels releases funds after rule-of-law reforms and compliance steps under new government
The European Commission has agreed to release around €16.4 billion in previously frozen EU funds for Hungary after saying the country has made sufficient progress on a series of governance and rule-of-law conditions linked to its recovery and cohesion funding programmes.
The money had been withheld in recent years amid disputes between Budapest and Brussels over judicial independence, public procurement standards, and anti-corruption safeguards. EU officials say Hungary has now taken what they describe as a series of technical and legislative steps to address those concerns, alongside stronger monitoring and compliance mechanisms tied to the funding.
Under the decision, about €10 billion from the recovery fund and €4.2 billion in cohesion funding will be released immediately, while a further €2.2 billion remains conditional on continued progress against agreed benchmarks. Officials say future payments will depend on sustained implementation and verification of reforms.
Hungary’s government has welcomed the move as key to unlocking investment and supporting growth after years of stagnation, while the Commission stresses the decision is not a political endorsement but part of standard EU conditionality rules applied to all member states.
