The European Commission withheld tens of billions of euros from Hungary for political blackmail.

Omissions

• The Council of the EU, not just the Commission, made the formal decision to suspend funds on December 12, 2022; the €22 billion figure represented total cohesion funds at risk, not the formally suspended amount; the €6.3 billion figure is the official suspension under the rule of law conditionality mechanism; Reuters reported on April 27, 2026 that approximately €17 billion in funds remained blocked but the legally suspended amount under conditionality was smaller.

Sources

• PrimaryCouncil of the European UnionCouncil decided to suspend approximately €6.3 billion of budgetary commitments in cohesion policy programmes for Hungary under the rule of law conditionality mechanism
• SecondaryReutersEuropean Commission would hold back €22 billion of EU cohesion funds for Hungary until government meets rule of law conditions
• SecondaryReutersPush to release €17 billion in EU funds that have been blocked due to rule-of-law concerns