US EditionEU legal adviser says billions in funding for Hungary were wrongly released
Advocate General Tamara Čapeta said Hungary had not met judicial reform conditions before the €10.2 billion EU fund release, urging annulment due to incomplete reforms.
- Published Feb. 12, 2026, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta urged the European Court of Justice to annul the 2023 European Commission decision releasing around 10.2 billion euros to Hungary.
- In 2022 the European Commission suspended payments after citing democratic backsliding, concerns about public procurement, and failures on corruption and judicial independence in Hungary.
- Legally, she said the disbursement occurred before required judicial reforms entered into force, and Tamara Ćapeta argued the European Commission incorrectly applied the requirements.
- Hungary faces economic strain as billions in EU funds remain frozen, causing budget shortfalls amid years of stagnation while Péter Magyar leads April polls pledging to restore institutions and recover funds.
- EU officials have long warned that Hungary's government channels EU funds to insiders, amid Orbán's rejection of accusations of democratic backsliding, which he calls interference.
44 Articles
44 Articles
Orbán calls repayment ‘absurd’ as EU court opinion questions EUR 10 billion paid to Hungary
The Advocate General of the EU’s top court has said the European Commission made a mistake when it lifted the freeze on EUR 10.2 billion in cohesion funding for Hungary at the end of 2023.According to Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta, Hungary had not fully met the rule-of-law conditions attached to the release of the money at the time, in particular, reforms related to strengthening judicial independence.Continue reading
The European Court has not yet decided but the Advocate General has already given her opinion. The EC should not have handed over ten billion to Hungary. Orban reacted: it's “absurd” to try to get the money back.
EU court should annul resumption of EU payments to Hungary, adviser says
The EU Court of Justice should annul the European Commission's decision in 2023 to lift a suspension on the payment of EU funds to Hungary, the court's adviser said on Thursday, noting that the required reforms by Budapest had not yet gone into effect.
The European Conservative
Europe ReloadedEU Court Says Hungary Funds Were Unlawfully Released in 2023
A fresh legal opinion from the EU’s top court has intensified accusations that Brussels is using financial and legal instruments to exert political pressure on Hungary, just weeks before the country heads to the polls. On Thursday, February 12th, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta advised the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to annul the European Commission’s 2023 decision to release around €10 billion in EU funds to Hungary, arguing th…
In an opinion issued on Thursday, the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union proposed annulling the decision by which the European Commission agreed to release part of the EU funds for Hungary. According to her, this could only happen if the required reforms were implemented.
Tamara Ćapeta, a senior legal advisor at the Court of Justice of the EU, said it should annul the European Commission's (EC) decision to unfreeze billions of euros in payments to Hungary that had been suspended due to corruption and a lack of rule of law.
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