Overview
- The advice targets the Commission’s December 2023 move to unlock cohesion funds after the European Parliament sued over continuing rule‑of‑law concerns.
- Advocate General Tamara Capeta says the Commission freed funds before required judicial changes took legal effect and failed to justify easing its own conditions.
- She rejected as unproven the allegation that the payout was exchanged for Hungary stepping aside at an EU leaders’ summit.
- The court’s ruling is expected in the coming months, and if it follows the opinion the money could be re‑frozen with a new Commission review, with MEPs pressing to claw back about €2.8 billion already disbursed.
- In a separate case, Advocate General Juliane Kokott found Hungary’s 2023 “sovereignty law” likely breaches EU rules by chilling speech and burdening NGOs.