Court of Justice may demand billions back from Hungary

According to Politico, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán described as "absurd" the judges' demand that the EU recover €10 billion from funds released to Hungary. He was responding to the recommendation by Tamara Ćapetová, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, to overturn the Commission's decision to release frozen funds to Hungary.

The court has been dealing with the case since March 2024, when the European Parliament filed a lawsuit. It claims that the European Commission violated its own rules by unblocking funds for Hungary, which were originally withheld due to concerns about the rule of law.

They accuse it of political expediency, as the decision to release the money came on the eve of a key summit of EU leaders, at which the bloc asked Orbán to cooperate in sending aid to Ukraine.

However, the European Commission insists that the money was released because Budapest had met the milestones set for judicial reforms and had addressed shortcomings in the independence of the judiciary.

According to the Advocate General, however, the Commission incorrectly assessed the fulfillment of the conditions and did not sufficiently evaluate the reforms concerning the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. She also criticized the lack of transparency, as she believes there is no thorough justification. However, she did not support the European Parliament's claims that the European Commission abused its powers.

If the court confirms her opinion, the Commission would have to request the return of the money or deduct it from future payments, according to German MEP René Repasi.

Ćapetová's opinion comes ahead of the April elections in Hungary, where Orbán is trailing in the polls. However, her proposals are not binding on the judges of the EU Court of Justice.

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