Orbán’s regime lost billion euros due to non-compliance with EU democracy standards

Viktor Orbán’s government has lost the right to receive about €1 billion in European Union aid to Hungary. This happened due to violations of the rule of law, according to DW.

By the end of 2024, Hungary was supposed to implement reforms aimed at complying with EU standards, including changes to laws on preventing conflicts of interest and fighting corruption.

However, since it has not done so, the country is now finally losing the right to this assistance, a European Commission spokesperson told DPA.

Failure to comply with standards

In December 2022, EU countries decided to freeze the payment of €6.3 billion from the European budget to Hungary under various programs. Brussels accused the government of Viktor Orbán of violating EU principles in the area of the rule of law, in particular, in the fight against corruption.

In total, the EU is blocking allocations to Hungary from its funds worth about €19 billion due to various violations. In addition to the rule of law, they also relate to human rights, refugee law, and other EU standards.

Hungary uses the issue of unblocking aid from European funds, in particular, in discussions around support for Ukraine. In December 2023, the European Commission approved advance payments of €900 million to Hungary as part of its still-frozen share of the recovery funds. In this way, the EU is trying to override Budapest’s veto on assistance to Ukraine.

In early December 2024, Viktor Orbán threatened to veto the next seven-year EU budget if Brussels did not unblock the frozen funds for his country.