EU-Hungary Tensions Escalate Over Rule of Law and Funding

Hungary refuses to change policies on LGBTQ+ rights and asylum seekers despite frozen EU funds; European Parliament considers legal action against European Commission.

The European Parliament is considering taking the European Commission to court over allegations that it gave into blackmail from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to get his approval to start membership talks with Ukraine.
Hungary’s government will not change policies the European Union believes infringe on LGBTQ+ rights and those of asylum seekers, even if doing so would unfreeze billions in funding the bloc has withheld from Budapest.
The EU has frozen funding to Hungary over concerns its right-wing nationalist government has trampled on minority rights and academic freedoms, failed to rein in official corruption and undermined democratic values.
The EU released more than 10 billion euros to Hungary after it undertook reforms to ensure the independence of its judicial system, but more than 20 billion euros remain frozen pending further legal changes.
On February 1, EU leaders will gather in Brussels in a bid to hash out an agreement on support for Ukraine and changes to the bloc's budget.