Hungary must bolster the independence of its judiciary "very soon" to stand a realistic chance of getting any of the 15.4 billion euros envisaged for Budapest from the European Union's COVID recovery stimulus, a senior EU official said.
Hungary can receive some 5.8 billion euros ($6.20 billion) in free grants and a further 9.6 billion euros in cheap loans from the EU, but the bloc has suspended any payments until Budapest implements reforms to improve judicial independence and tackle corruption.
