The top adviser to the EU’s highest court has said it should annul a decision by the European Commission to unfreeze billions of euros of payments to Hungary that had been suspended because of serious concerns over corruption and the rule of law. A year later, it concluded Hungary had made sufficient changes to meet the requirements for the money to be released and lifted the suspension, making the country eligible to receive about €10bn from various EU funds. The European parliament filed a complaint in 2024, claiming the EU’s executive had made “manifest errors”. Some MEPs said the commission’s decision, just before a key EU summit that needed Orbán’s support for aid to Ukraine, was politically motivated. EU law experts have said that if the court does side with parliament, the commission may have to recoup the money by reducing future funding.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2026 15:14 UTC