The European Commission's 2026 Rule of Law Report, published on 17 July 2026, assesses Hungary's progress on rule of law reforms, acknowledging several legislative advances while identifying continued shortcomings on judicial transparency, integrity rules, and high-level corruption enforcement. The country chapter, part of the broader annual rule of law review, highlights that the new Hungarian government engaged in reform efforts through dialogue with the Commission under the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the conditionality regime, leading to legislative changes. Notably, the National Judicial Council continued exercising powers from the 2023 judicial reform and issued statements in January 2026 defending judges facing undue pressure. New legislation adopted in June 2026 aims to remove obstacles to the Integrity Authority and Anti-Corruption Task Force and strengthens asset declarations with oversight and enforcement. The former government's 'state of danger' expired on 13 May 2026 and was not extended, and the Sovereignty Protection Office has been abolished. However, the report finds no progress on transparency of case allocation in lower-instance courts, structured remuneration increases for justice personnel, comprehensive lobbying and revolving doors reforms, or a track record of high-level corruption cases. Some progress was noted on media regulator independence and public service media governance, but no measures were taken on fair state advertising distribution. The report recommends that Hungary address these outstanding issues to strengthen the rule of law. The document is a staff working document accompanying the Commission's annual communication on the rule of law situation in the European Union.
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