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Hungary has also been officially denied European Union funds in the amount of 1 billion euros due to suspicions of corruption.
This decision, which was confirmed through an EU statement issued on December 31, marks the first time that the European bloc has acted in this way against a member state.
Budapest has not commented on the decision.
This amount of money has been part of the package of funds of 19.7 billion euros that have been frozen since 2022, when Brussels launched "conditionality" procedures against Hungary.
These procedures have blocked the funds due to suspicions that the Hungarian Government has violated the rules for public procurement, as well as the principles for control and transparency.
Budapest has made some reforms in order to unlock the funds, but the deadline for the release of new funds has expired on December 31. This means that Hungary has lost funds worth 1.04 billion euros.
In a report published in July, the European Commission said that Hungary has not met the democratic standards of the EU, especially when it comes to political funding, conflict of interest and media independence.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed in the past to fight to protect "the money that belongs to us".
"They constantly try to take money from Hungarians through different ways," he said in December.
Hungary's economy has been struggling recently, increasing pressure on Orbán ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2026./REL
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