{"id":271397,"date":"2025-07-18T06:59:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T06:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/271397\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T06:59:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T06:59:13","slug":"eu-takes-rule-of-law-battle-with-hungary-to-next-level-with-budget-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/271397\/","title":{"rendered":"EU takes rule of law battle with Hungary to next level with budget proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Published on 18\/07\/2025 – 6:35 GMT+2
\n \u2022Updated
\n 7:32\n <\/p>\n

\"\"
\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n

The European Commission has intensified its rule of law standoff with Hungary by linking future EU funding to adherence to democratic values under its proposed Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the seven-year budget proposal announced this week.<\/p>\n

Under the new framework, member states must uphold the EU\u2019s core values\u2014including the principles enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 2 of the EU Treaty\u2014to access funding and secure project approvals. The move introduces a form of \u201csmart conditionality\u201d, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the National Regional Partnership Plans, we are making the rule of law and fundamental rights a condition for investment and a focus for reform,\u201d von der Leyen said. \u201cEU money will be spent responsibly, with strong safeguards, clear conditionality, and appropriate incentives\u2014because this is in the interest of our citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The largest funding stream under the new budget, the Regional Partnership Plans (NRPs), will include allocations for agriculture and cohesion policies. Funding eligibility will be determined in part by the European Commission\u2019s annual rule of law reports.<\/p>\n

If adopted, the measure could lead to the full suspension of EU funds to Hungary. The country is already facing a freeze on \u20ac18 billion in EU funds due to concerns over systemic corruption and democratic backsliding. Under the current budgetary framework, Hungary has access to only \u20ac10 billion of those funds.<\/p>\n

German Green MEP Daniel Freund, a vocal critic of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, cautiously welcomed the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a small step in the right direction,\u201d Freund said. \u201cThings could improve if this plan goes through\u2014but let\u2019s not forget it must be ratified both by the European Parliament and unanimously by the member states, including Hungary. There\u2019s still a long battle ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freund also expressed concerns over parts of the proposal, particularly the shift toward a performance-based funding model similar to the one used during the COVID-19 Recovery Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere, oversight and accountability were much weaker,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Hungary remains the only EU country currently subject to the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism, a tool that allows the suspension of funds in cases of systemic breaches of EU values. Budapest strongly opposed the mechanism\u2019s adoption in 2020.<\/p>\n

Hungarian pro-government MEP Csaba D\u00f6m\u00f6t\u00f6r criticised the Commission\u2019s approach, calling it politically motivated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithholding money only serves leftist, liberal governments,\u201d D\u00f6m\u00f6t\u00f6r told Euronews. \u201cIf they can cause economic damage, it benefits leftist forces during elections. This is all political blackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Orb\u00e1n also slammed the proposed budget, calling it a \u201cpro-Ukraine budget\u201d and accusing the Commission of prioritising Ukraine over European citizens. He urged the Commission to withdraw the plan, arguing that it is too weak to be seriously negotiated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published on 18\/07\/2025 – 6:35 GMT+2 \u2022Updated 7:32 ADVERTISEMENT The European Commission has intensified its rule of law…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,12921,299,5187,1699,2190,7338],"class_list":{"0":"post-271397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-eu-budget","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-european","12":"tag-european-union","13":"tag-hungary","14":"tag-rule-of-law"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114872947327266351","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}