Hungary's new government has agreed to join the European Public Prosecutor's Office, ending years of resistance to the EU anti-fraud body and placing the country under the jurisdiction of Laura Codruța Kövesi, Romania's most prominent anti-corruption crusader.
The decision, announced following Peter Magyar's sweeping electoral victory over Viktor Orbán, marks a dramatic reversal in Budapest's relationship with EU oversight institutions. The EPPO, established in 2017 and operational since 2021, can now investigate suspected fraud, corruption, and money laundering involving EU funds in Hungary—a country that has received billions in European funding over the past decade.
For Romania, the development represents a significant diplomatic and institutional victory. Kövesi, who led Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) from 2013 to 2018, was appointed as EPPO's first chief prosecutor in 2019 despite fierce opposition from the Romanian government at the time. Her tenure at DNA saw high-profile convictions of ministers, mayors, and lawmakers, establishing her reputation as one of Eastern Europe's most effective corruption fighters.
"Hungary's accession to EPPO is not just about investigating past misuse of funds," noted legal analysts in Bucharest. "It's about establishing accountability mechanisms that the Orbán government systematically avoided for fifteen years."
The European Public Prosecutor's Office currently has jurisdiction in 22 of the 27 EU member states. Hungary had been among the holdouts, alongside Poland, Sweden, Ireland, and Denmark. Poland, now under a pro-EU government led by Donald Tusk, joined EPPO in October 2024.
The timing of Hungary's decision is significant. During the Orbán era, EU institutions suspended billions in funding to Hungary over rule-of-law concerns, with particular attention to the lack of independent oversight over how European money was spent. The EU's Cohesion Policy alone allocated approximately €22 billion to Hungary for the 2021-2027 period, though much of it remained frozen pending governance reforms.
