EU Parliament preparing to sue EC over unfreezing billions of euros in funding for Hungary

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The EU Parliament is preparing to sue the European Commission over its decision to unfreeze billions of euros in funding for Hungary late last year, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee on Monday voted nearly unanimously, with 16 members in favor, one opposed, and no abstentions, to take the European Commission to court for breaching its obligation to protect taxpayer money from being misused, Politico reported.

Last December, the EC unblocked €10.2 billion (about $11.1 billion) in frozen EU cohesion funds earmarked for Budapest, which had been held back due to human rights and rule-of-law concerns.

In January, EU lawmakers threatened to initiate legal action against the EC if the executive released more frozen funds to Hungary.

The text was approved with 345 votes for, 104 against, and 29 abstentions.

MEPs have criticized Ursula von der Leyen's decision, accusing her of caving to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's blackmail.

"We believe we have a solid case, as the Commission has contradicted itself on whether Hungary is respecting the rule of law," Greens MEP Daniel Freund told Politico.