The European Commission wants to freeze more than 13 billion euros of EU funds for Hungary over concerns about its fragile democracy and failures to curb corruption.
The proposal, which must be approved by EU member states, marks a turning point in the commission's battle with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the rule of law, The Guardian reported.
The commission proposed in September to suspend 7.5 billion euros of funding for Hungary's economic development, after fearing that Orbán's government would not be able to guarantee the proper use and oversight of the money.
The European Commissioner for the Budget, Johannes Hahn, has said that Budapest has not implemented the necessary measures to remove the risk completely, although he added that progress is being made.
European officials think they have a unique moment to push Orban towards reform.
But officials are concerned that Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has previously promised changes while increasing government control over the judiciary and restricting independent media.
