Executive Vice-President Fitto, in a written answer on 15 June 2026, defended the Commission's requirement that Hungary implement judicial reforms as a condition for releasing frozen EU funds, arguing that the measures are lawful under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation and necessary to protect the Union's financial interests. The answer pushes back against claims of interference with national sovereignty, directly impacting Hungary's access to billions in EU funds and setting a precedent for rule-of-law conditionality across Member States.
The answer responds to a parliamentary question submitted on 15 April 2026 by MEPs Erik Kaliňák and Judita Laššáková (both NI), who argued that four judicial 'super milestones' (Nos 213–216) in Hungary's recovery plan—covering the strengthening of the National Judicial Council, election of the Curia President, case allocation, preliminary references to the Court of Justice, and review of Constitutional Court decisions—constitute an ultra vires interference with national sovereignty under Article 4(2) TEU.
Fitto's answer offers no new concrete proposals or numerical targets but reaffirms the existing legal framework. He notes that Hungary committed to 27 audit and control milestones when the Council approved its RRP on 15 December 2022, and that the Commission will assess fulfilment only after Hungary submits a payment request, based on the criteria in the Council implementing decisions and the Commission's 21 February 2023 methodology. The answer signals no shift in the Commission's stance: conditionality remains tied to judicial independence reforms, with no timeline for release.
The Commission maintains that protecting the EU budget justifies conditions on national judicial organisation, rejecting the MEPs' sovereignty argument. Institutional follow-up: Hungary must first submit a payment request; the Commission will then assess milestone fulfilment, a process that could take months. The answer leaves no room for negotiation on the milestones themselves, suggesting continued friction between Budapest and Brussels.