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EU Parliament Committee Votes to Sue Commission Over Hungary Funds Release

An EU Parliament committee has voted to sue the European Commission over its decision to release €10 billion in cohesion funds to Hungary. Green MEP Daniel Freund announced the news on X on Tuesday.

The decision follows a 16-1 vote within the EP's Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). It comes amid concerns over Hungary's commitment to the rule of law.

"This is our response to Ursula von der Leyen's release of €10 billion in exchange for her veto. The rule of law cannot be betrayed for deals with Viktor Orban," Freund, who is a member of the AFCO committee, posted on X.

The European Commission announced in December, before a European Council summit vote on starting accession negotiations with Ukraine, the release of €10.2 billion in cohesion funds for Hungary. It stated that the Hungarian government's reforms are deemed sufficient to strengthen judicial independence.

Later, during the European Council meeting, Viktor Orban left the room during the vote on starting negotiations with Ukraine. The decision was adopted with 26 votes in favour and one abstention.

The European Commission has repeatedly denied any link between the release of funds to Budapest and its desire to convince Hungary not to block Ukraine's accession negotiations.

In January, the European Parliament announced that its legal service and the AFCO committee would examine a possible legal complaint regarding the release of funds and whether the decision violates European law.

According to parliamentary sources, EP President Roberta Metsola is likely to recommend that the EP's legal service sue the European Commission at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). However, she will first inform the Conference of Presidents on Thursday about the vote in the AFCO Committee.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

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