Hungary regained access to €4.2 billion in European funding on Tuesday after EU governments accepted reforms addressing corruption risks. The decision also reopens Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe funding for universities affected by restrictions imposed under Viktor Orbán’s government.
Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin confirmed the decision after the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg. Governments had accepted that Hungary’s corrective measures justified lifting the restrictions.
“This is a very important milestone,” Serafin said, describing the decision as recognition of positive developments over recent months. The Commission had proposed lifting the measures in September, but approval by EU governments was still needed.
Tuesday’s decision restores access to funding rather than transferring the entire sum immediately. It reverses one set of restrictions in a dispute that has held up European investment and university participation for years.
Stronger checks on contracts and public money
The EU introduced the restrictions in 2022 to protect its budget from corruption and conflicts of interest. Governments suspended funding commitments initially worth approximately €6.3 billion across three programmes. They also prohibited new European funding agreements with public-interest trusts and organisations maintained by them, affecting universities governed through those foundations.
Member States broadly welcomed the significant and tangible results achieved to date.
— Thomas Byrne, Irish European Affairs Minister
The Commission’s September assessment identified changes to public procurement, asset declarations, prosecutorial oversight and the transparency of public spending. Hungary strengthened the Integrity Authority’s powers and access to information, alongside measures addressing conflicts of interest in the foundations.
Budapest also submitted additional measures involving participation in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, stronger competition in public contracts and clearer information about the ultimate owners of organisations receiving public support. The Commission concluded that the reforms, considered together, addressed the breaches underlying the restrictions.
Irish European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne said governments welcomed Hungary’s progress while encouraging it to continue. “Member States broadly welcomed the significant and tangible results achieved to date,” he said after ministers reviewed the country’s rule-of-law situation.
Universities regain access, but other funds have separate conditions
For affected universities, lifting the restrictions removes a barrier to new agreements supporting student exchanges and research. The measures concerned institutions maintained by public-interest foundations, rather than excluding every Hungarian university from European programmes.
The Commission explained in September that its proposal would restore €4.2 billion in cohesion funding and full access to Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe for the students and researchers concerned. Cohesion funding supports regional development and investment, extending the decision’s significance beyond higher education.
Hungary’s recovery funding follows a separate process. In July, EU governments approved its revised recovery plan, covering approximately €10 billion in grants and loans. Payments depend on completing agreed reforms and investment targets. Tuesday’s decision does not automatically release that money.
Nor does it end the separate scrutiny of Hungary’s democratic standards. Byrne described Tuesday’s discussion as a review of progress under that procedure. The immediate change is narrower but consequential: funding commitments and university agreements blocked under the anti-corruption mechanism can move forward again. Budapest must still meet the conditions attached to other European support.
