Hungary will forfeit 1.04 billion euros ($1.07 billion) out of 6.3 billion euros frozen by Brussels over rule of law concerns, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The funds, which must be allocated by the end of 2024, will expire if not used by that deadline. In total, Hungary has about 19 billion euros in post-pandemic recovery and other EU funds currently frozen.
The report also highlighted Hungary’s ongoing legal troubles with the EU, including a 200 million euro fine and a daily penalty of 1 million euros for failing to comply with previous court rulings regarding migrant acceptance rules. The remaining funds are expected to stay frozen until Hungary’s parliamentary elections in spring 2026.
However, the European Commission signaled in December 2023 that it would unfreeze 10.2 billion euros after receiving clarifications from Budapest on its rule-of-law issues. Despite this, Hungary’s blockage of EU funding for Ukraine’s war effort led to the release of some funds in December.
