Hungary and Poland have lost a high-stakes legal battle surrounding funding from the European Union.
This follows the EU moving to enact new standards requiring member nations to comply with so-called “common values” or risk losing access to compensation.
The European Court of Justice held complying with rule of law is a condition of receiving membership of the Union and subsequent funding.
Poland and Hungary are being accused of slipping up on some fundamental standards surrounding the independence of courts, media and non-governmental organisations.
Both nations are also key recipients of European Union funding.
Hungary’s government has slammed the decision, labelling it politically motivated.
If the countries fail to reform, they will likely wave goodbye to billions in funding.
The EU has already frozen COVID recovery money worth €36billion for Poland and €7b for Hungary.
