Assessment of Hungary’s compliance with conditions to access European Union funds

In December 2022, European Union institutions made Hungary’s access to substantial amounts of EU funding conditional on addressing serious deficiencies in the rule of law, anti-corruption safeguards and the effective enjoyment of fundamental rights. These conditions were established through three distinct but partly overlapping mechanisms: the rule of law conditionality mechanism, the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), and the horizontal enabling condition concerning the effective application and implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Following the change of government in the spring of 2026, Hungary’s approach to meeting these conditions has fundamentally changed. The new government has undertaken substantial legislative and institutional reforms, addressing several long-standing deficiencies and demonstrating a willingness to cooperate with EU institutions. These developments represent a significant departure from the previous government’s approach and have resulted in tangible progress towards meeting the conditions attached to EU funding.

An important development has been the substantial revision of Hungary’s RRP. Faced with the limited time remaining before the deadlines for implementing reforms and investments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the new government renegotiated the plan with the European Commission. The revision streamlined and consolidated numerous milestones, adjusted the scope of certain commitments, removed some previously agreed requirements, and introduced new measures. In several areas, the revision prioritised measures that could realistically be implemented before the 31 August deadline. The revised RRP therefore reflects both the changed political circumstances and the practical constraints facing the new government. However, the modification or removal of milestones should not be confused with the full resolution of the problems they were originally intended to address. Some previously agreed safeguards and reform commitments have been weakened or abandoned, while the effectiveness of several newly adopted measures remains to be demonstrated in practice.

In September 2026, the European Commission proposed lifting the measures imposed on Hungary under the rule of law conditionality mechanism. This proposal rightly reflects significant progress, including important institutional reforms and new corrective measures. Nevertheless, the implementation of reforms and their ability to deliver lasting improvements will require continued attention.

The central finding of this assessment is that fulfilling the revised milestones and conditions under the conditionality mechanism and the RRP does not necessarily mean that Hungary’s underlying systemic deficiencies have been fully resolved. Important shortcomings persist in the prevention and prosecution of corruption, transparency and access to public information, public procurement, the quality of law-making, and the functioning of institutions responsible for safeguarding the rule of law.

As regards the horizontal enabling condition concerning the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the overall situation is mixed. The assessment finds that the requirements relating to academic freedom and the rights of LGBTQI+ persons have been fulfilled, while those concerning the right to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement remain unfulfilled. In the area of judicial independence, limited positive developments have taken place since the change in government, although the measures adopted earlier to comply with EU requirements are not sufficient to fully address the relevant concerns, as shown in detail in our previous annual assessments.

The assessment concerning LGBTQI+ rights illustrates the limits of equating compliance with previously defined conditions of the EU with the removal of all restrictions on fundamental rights. Although the government has addressed the deficiencies identified by the Commission in the relevant implementing decisions, numerous other restrictive provisions affecting LGBTQI+ persons remain in force. These provisions were not covered by the specific requirements established in those decisions. Consequently, fulfilment of the horizontal enabling condition in this area should not be understood as implying that the broader fundamental rights concerns affecting LGBTQI+ persons in Hungary have been resolved.

Overall, the developments of 2026 represent substantial progress in Hungary’s compliance with the conditions attached to EU funding, although progress under the three mechanisms has been uneven. Meeting these requirements is an important achievement. But as this assessment shows, it does not mean that the broader problems affecting the rule of law and the effective enjoyment of fundamental rights in Hungary have been fully resolved.

The full assessment, prepared by Amnesty International Hungary, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, K-Monitor and Transparency International Hungary, is available here: Assessment of Hungary’s compliance with conditions to access European Union funds (26 October 2026)