European Commission proposes to release €4.2 billion in EU funds for Hungary after rule-of-law reforms

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to unlock €4.2 billion in EU cohesion funds for Hungary, which had been frozen since 2022 over rule-of-law concerns. The move follows reforms by Prime Minister Péter Magyar's government, which took office after an April election victory. The Commission also restored Hungary's access to Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programmes. The proposal now needs approval from the Council of the EU. Hungary still seeks €10 billion in recovery funds and faces €2 billion in blocked cohesion funds over other issues.