BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The advocate general for European Union’s highest court on Thursday urged the court to annul a 2023 European Commission decision to release billions in funding to Hungary that had been suspended over rule-of-law and corruption concerns.
The European Commission in 2022 suspended the money to Budapest over what it said was democratic backsliding by Hungary's right-wing populist government and failures to tackle corruption and ensure judicial independence. A year later, the Commission found that the government had carried out sufficient reforms to have around 10.2 billion euros ($12.1 billion) released.
But in a non-binding opinion on Thursday, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta urged the European Court of Justice to annul the decision that unfroze the funds, arguing that Hungary had not carried out the required judicial reforms by the time they were released.
While not legally binding, such opinions are often followed by the court.
Hungary, a major net recipient of EU funds, has come under increasing criticism for veering away from democratic norms. The Commission has for more than a decade accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of dismantling democratic institutions, taking control of the media and infringing on minority rights. Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, rejects the accusations and has denounced them as interference in Hungary's sovereignty.
When it suspended funds to Hungary, the Commission was worried about, among other things, public procurement — purchases by the state of goods and services or for the execution of projects using EU money. The bloc has feared that such contracts have allowed Orbán’s government to channel EU funding into the businesses of politically connected insiders.
The case contesting the Commission's release of funds was brought in 2024 by the European Parliament, which argued the Commission had committed errors in determining Hungary was eligible to receive the funding.
In her opinion, Ćapeta wrote that the Commission had “incorrectly applied the requirements imposed on Hungary when it permitted, without any explanation, the disbursement of the budget before the required legislative reforms had entered into force or were being applied.”
Billions in additional EU funding remain frozen to Hungary, a shortfall in its budget that has contributed to years of economic stagnation. Orbán, an advocate of greater authority for national governments among the EU's 27 member states, has accused the bloc of interfering in his country's internal affairs and using the distribution of funds as a means of coercion.
The autocratic leader faces what will likely be the biggest challenge of his 16 years in power during elections in April, where a center-right challenger, Péter Magyar and his Tisza party, hold a substantial lead in most polls.
Magyar has promised to restore Hungary's democratic institutions and pursue a more constructive relationship with the EU, and to quickly bring home the frozen funds.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the EU summit at Alden Biesen Castle in Bilzen-Hoeselt, Belgium, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh on Thursday held its first election since the 2024 mass protests toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government. The balloting was mostly peaceful in a vote seen as a critical test of the country’s democracy after years of political turmoil.
After a slow start, crowds converged on polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere later in the day. By 2:00 p.m., over 47% voters had cast their ballots, the Election Commission said. Polls closed at 4:30 p.m. and the counting started right away, with the results expected on Friday.
At one Dhaka polling station, poll officials manually counted the black-and-white paper ballots and checked each for validity before tabulating the results. Political party representatives were present as electoral observers and security officials kept a close watch.
More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in what was the country's first election since Hasina's ouster after weeks of mass protests, dubbed by many as a Gen Z uprising. Hasina fled the country and is living in India in exile while her party has been banned from the polls.
Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a leading contender to form the next government. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and returned to Bangladesh in December, after 17 years in self-exile in London. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.
Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal. The conservative religious group’s growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could come under pressure if they come to power. Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.
Shafiqur Rahman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, expressed optimism after casting his vote in a polling station.
The election "is a turning point,” he told The Associated Press. “People demand change. They desire change. We also desire the change.”
Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus was upbeat about the election, saying it was a moment of national joy.
“This is a day of great joy. Today is the birthday of a new Bangladesh," Yunus told reporters as he voted in Dhaka's Gulshan area and visited other stations.
The interim government led by Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has said it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists will be present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.
Bangladesh’s Parliament has 350 seats, including 300 elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women. Lawmakers are chosen by plurality and the parliament serves a five-year term. The Election Commission recently postponed voting in one constituency after a candidate died.
The election follows a turbulent period marked by mob violence, attacks on Hindu minorities and the press, the growing influence of Islamists and weakening of the rule of law.
It could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.
“I think it is a very crucial election because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said Ikram ul Haque, 28, adding that past elections were far from fair.
“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here,” he said. “I hope Bangladesh will have exponential change.”
Thursday’s election is a critical test not just of leadership but of trust in Bangladesh’s democratic future. Voters can say “Yes” to endorse major reform proposals that stemmed from a national charter signed by major political parties last year.
Yunus was also enthusiastic about the referendum. “Voting for a candidate is important, but the referendum is very important. The whole of Bangladesh will change,” he said.
If a majority of voters favor the referendum, the newly elected Parliament could form a constitutional reform council to make the changes with 180 working days from its first session. The proposals include the creation of new constitutional bodies and changing Parliament from a single body to a bicameral legislature with an upper house empowered to amend the constitution by majority vote.
The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami both signed the document with some changes after initially expressing some dissent.
Hasina’s Awami League party — still a major party in Bangladesh though banned from the polls — and some of its former allies were excluded from the discussion. From exile, Hasina denounced the election for excluding her party.
Some critics have also said that the referendum has limited the options put before voters.
A Bangladeshi Christian nun casts her vote in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A person shows victory signs after casting his vote outside a polling center during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, center, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus waves after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, centre, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A person shows victory signs after casting his vote outside a polling center during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, center, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Voters wait in line outside a polling center to cast their ballots during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Voters wait in line outside a polling center to cast their ballots during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Bangladeshi people stand in queue to cast their votes in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An army official announces to the voters to maintain discipline in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Bangladeshi women stand in queue to cast their votes in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
People ride on three wheelers on a street ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Security personnel arrive to collect ballot boxes and voting materials at a distribution centre ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An official stands near ballot boxes and voting papers before its distribution to various polling centers ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
