Hungary has made some progress in judicial reforms, but the European Commission pointed to a long list of remaining shortcomings in an annual report on the rule of law in EU member states

The EC published its fourth annual report on the rule of law that assesses four areas: judicial reforms; framework for combating corruption; freedom and diversity of the media; institutional checks and balances.

The first part, consisting of a summary, is followed by a list of recommendations.

For the first time, the EC gave precise data on the percentage of recommendations that have been fulfilled, 65%, but Hungary fell short of that level.

The European Commission acknowledged Hungary strengthening the role of the National Judicial Council (OBT), which is the supervisory organ of the central administration of courts, by allowing it to effectively counterbalance the powers of the President of the National Office for the Judiciary, by ensuring that its opinions on a number of important matters are binding, the report noted.

New laws addressed several concerns related to the functioning of the Kuria, the country’s Supreme Court, including removing its power to review the necessity of preliminary references, in line with EU law requirements. Case allocation in the Kuria is expected to be more transparent following a legislative reform and the full implementation of the reform.

Didier Reynders, the Commissioner for Justice, also drew attention to the fact that in the case of Hungary, judicial reform appears in the conditionality procedure, meaning that the disbursement of EU funds to Hungary depends on the fulfillment of these reforms.

The EC pointed to a number of anti-corruption reforms Hungary is rolling out in response to a conditionality procedure, including the establishment of a new Integrity Authority to improve oversight over spending of EU funds and the chance for judicial review of prosecutorial decisions not to investigate or prosecute corruption; but it said the "lack of a robust track record of investigations of corruption allegations concerning high-level officials and their immediate circle remains a serious concern".

The report highlighted concerns over the functional independence of the media authority, as well as the editorial and financial independence of public service media. "No measures have been adopted or are planned to regulate the channelling of state advertising to media outlets," it added.

In Hungary, concerns persist regarding the independence and effective functioning of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, and civil society continues to face serious challenges or obstacles.

The deployment of spyware targeting certain investigative journalists and media professionals remained an issue of serious concern and further concerns have been raised due to the absence of effective oversight. 

The EC said legal certainty had been "undermined" by an "unpredictable" regulatory environment and "extensive and prolonged use" of the government's emergency powers.

Viktor Orban’s government has continued to use its emergency powers extensively since 2020, undermining legal certainty and affecting the activities and the stability of businesses in the single market.

In a statement issued after the release of the report, the Government Information Centre said Brussels was "attacking" Hungary because it hadn't "joined the pro-war ranks".