The Council of the EU has ended funding restrictions on Hungary that were introduced to address corruption risks. Its decision releases €4.2 billion and allows the country to return to Erasmus+, the student exchange programme, and Horizon Europe, the research initiative.
The restrictions began in 2022, when Viktor Orbán was prime minister. They made access to EU money depend on respect for the rule of law and resulted in substantial funding being frozen. After Péter Magyar's centre-right Tisza Party won a landslide election victory, the new government introduced measures to fight corruption and make its activities more transparent.
Magyar agreed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on a total of €16.4 billion in return for reforms and investment plans. Besides the €4.2 billion now released, Hungary is seeking €10 billion from funds for recovery after the pandemic. Another €2.2 billion is linked to greater academic freedom. Hungary said at the end of August that it had met all the conditions. The Commission is assessing this claim. A positive assessment and approval in the autumn could give Hungary access to further money by the end of the year.
