On 13 October 2026 the Council adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2324, which lifts the measures of Decision (EU) 2022/2506 on Hungary and repeals it, published on EUR-Lex on 21 October, and BBC News reported the same day that the EU agreed to release the frozen €4.2bn.
History. 5 of 7. In five of the seven cases the group lifted its penalty within 167 days of the new government taking office, the time Hungary's government will have had by 23 October. The Maldives took 441 days, and Zimbabwe is still outside.
Hunch.
The Council market resolves on EUR-Lex and the Council's press releases: YES if, by 23 October 2026, EU governments adopt a Council Implementing Decision lifting both measures of Decision (EU) 2022/2506 on Hungary, the €4.2bn freeze and the ban on grants to foundation-run universities. A decision that keeps either measure, or an extension of the deadline, is NO; if EUR-Lex is slow to publish, a Council or Commission press release settles it, with Reuters and Politico Europe as backup.
We looked for cases where a group of countries punished a member for the way its government ran the country, and that government then lost power. Most penalties were a lost seat or membership; only Poland's was money. We found seven cases from 1999 to 2024. In each we counted the days from the new government taking office to the group lifting the penalty. Hungary's government will have had 167 days by 23 October.