The EU Court of Justice must annul the European Commission's 2023 decision to lift the suspension of payments of EU funds to Hungary. This was stated by the court's advocate general Tamara Capeta, quoted by "Reuters".
She specified that the reforms required from Budapest have not yet entered into force.
In 2022, the Commission suspended payments to Hungary due to concerns about corruption, threats to the rule of law and the undermining of democracy.
A year later, the EC concluded that Hungary had met its requirements and lifted the suspension, which allows the country to receive about 10 billion euros from various EU funds.
However, the European Parliament brought the case before the Court of Justice of the EU, requesting the annulment of this decision, on the grounds that the Commission had made "manifest errors" and abused its powers.
Capeta sided with the parliament and said that the Commission had authorised payments before the necessary reforms had entered into force and had failed to assess reforms to Hungary's judiciary.
"The Commission cannot allocate EU funds to a member state until the necessary legislative reforms have entered into force and are being effectively implemented," she stressed.
Capeta also added that the EC had failed to deal with developments that could undermine or offset the reforms.
The advisor's opinion is not binding, but is often followed by the courts.