EU Advocate General Recommends Annulment of 10.2 Billion Euros to Hungary

The European Court of Justice's advocate general recommended on Thursday that the court annul a 2023 decision by the European Commission to release 10.2 billion euros in frozen cohesion funds to Hungary, citing insufficient fulfillment of required rule-of-law reforms.

Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta issued the nonbinding opinion in a case brought by the European Parliament, which challenged the Commission's determination that Hungary had met the necessary conditions for the payment. While such opinions do not legally bind the court, they typically carry significant influence, with a final ruling expected before summer. The funds, part of broader EU cohesion allocations, were initially suspended in 2022 amid concerns over democratic backsliding, corruption risks, and failures to ensure judicial independence under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government.

The Commission had withheld portions of Hungary's EU budget contributions, totaling around 22 billion euros overall, due to violations of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. These included issues related to migration policies, LGBTQ rights, academic freedom, and public procurement practices that allegedly favored politically...