EU moves to unlock €4.2bn for Hungary as Magyar strengthens rule-of-law and corruption rules

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday (23 September) to unlock €4.2bn in EU funds for Hungary, which were frozen due to concerns over rule of law breaches linked to the previous government of Viktor Orbán. The funds have been blocked since 2022 under the so-called conditionality mechanism, aimed at protecting funds under the EU budget from systematic breaches of rule of law principles such as independence of the judiciary. Earlier this month, Hungary informed the commission of regulatory reforms in different sectors, such as public procurement, the anti-corruption framework, risks of conflicts of interest, and the effectiveness of prosecutorial action. The commission has assessed the remedies and proposed to unlock €4.2bn in cohesion funding and restore full access to Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, “reopening doors” to Hungarian students and researchers. “Hungary has taken important steps to strengthen the rule of law and protect the Union’s financial interests,” said the commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen. Hungary has taken important steps to strengthen the rule of law and protect the Union’s financial interests.And reforms deliver results. Today, we are proposing to unlock €4.2 billion and reopen the doors of Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe to Hungarian students and researchers.… pic.twitter.com/temnQYvACK— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 23, 2026 The Council, representing EU member states, has now one month to green-light the commission proposal. Following his win in the April election, Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar has moved on various fronts to undo 16 years of Orbán’s meddling in the system. One of the big achievements was last week parliament’s approval of amending the child protection law, which was highly-controversial for the past five years. Back in 2021, the Orbán government amended this law on child protection, conflating paedophilia with homosexuality. It spurred widespread criticism, as it was modelled on Vladimir Putin’s similar law.