On Wednesday 24 January, members of the European Parliament’s Committees on Budget (BUDG) and Budgetary Control (CONT) questioned the European Commissioners for the Budget, Johannes Hahn, for Justice, Didier Reynders, and for Employment, Nicolas Schmit, on the partial unfreezing of European funds granted to Hungary on 13 December (see EUROPE 13313/9).
The European Commission unblocked €10.2 billion in cohesion funds. After an “in-depth” assessment, the Commission found that the Hungarian authorities had taken the necessary measures to comply with the condition relating to the horizontal application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in Hungary.
This decision was not well received in the Parliament. On 18 January, the Council adopted by a large majority a resolution denouncing the Commission’s initiative and announcing its intention to refer the Commission to the EU Court of Justice (see EUROPE 13331/1).
On Wednesday, reaffirming the Commission’s priority of respect for the rule of law, the Commissioners justified their decision by highlighting the improvement in judicial independence in Hungary.
Mr Reynders highlighted three key Hungarian reforms: - the strengthened role of the National Council of the Judiciary, in particular to counterbalance the power of the Hungarian President; - the new rules governing the operation of the Supreme Court and the appointment of its members; - the independence of judicial decisions.
“If some of the funding frozen by the regulation on conditionality linked to the rule of law has been released, this means that the Commission will be able to reimburse up to €10.2 billion to Hungary between now and 2030”, said Mr Schmit. “The December decision merely opened up the possibility for Hungary to be reimbursed for expenditure on projects actually implemented on the ground”, he said, adding that at this stage only a reimbursement of €450 million had been granted to Budapest since December 2023.
Finally, Mr Hahn assured that he had applied the conditionality regulation to the letter, specifying that it was Hungary’s responsibility to inform the Commission of any reforms.
However, the MEPs expressed their incomprehension, reiterating their concerns about the persistent violations of the rule of law in Hungary. There was also widespread criticism of the “coincidence” of the timing, with funds unfrozen the day before the European summit on 14 and 15 December which was crucial for the future of the European budget. Some believe that this decision was intended to facilitate Hungary’s support for other crucial issues, such as the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine or the granting of multi-year macro-financial aid to Kyiv. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)