European Parliament sues Commission over the release of €10.2 billion in frozen funds to Hungary

The move, anticipated on Monday evening, was rubber-stamped on Thursday morning by the Parliament's president, Roberta Metsola, during a meeting with the leaders of the political groups. Metsola has the final authority to launch legal action against other institutions before the European Court of Justice.

The deadline for submission is 25 March.

With the lawsuit, the hemicycle piles pressure on Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks a second term at the helm of the Commission and vows to stand firm on the rule of law, a sensitive issue that has absorbed considerable energy of her first mandate.

Von der Leyen's family, the European People's Party (EPP), did not oppose Thursday's vote but, in a statement, put the blame on the entire College of Commissioners, rather than on the president herself. 

"We want to make sure that taxpayers' money has been treated in accordance with the Treaties. This is not a political issue for the EPP, this is not an election issue - we only want to have legal clarity," said MEP Petri Sarvamaa.

The ire of lawmakers stems from the decision taken by the Commission in December that unblocked €10.2 billion in cohesion funds for Hungary, which the country had been unable to access due to persistent deficiencies in the rule of law.

The executive argued the release was justified because Budapest had in May last year passed a reform to strengthen judicial independence and mitigate political interference in the courts, in line with four "super milestones" that Brussels had imposed.

Lawmakers, echoing the concerns expressed by civil society, challenged the reasoning and said the overhaul was not up to the task. They also complained the money had been unfrozen one day before a crucial summit of EU leaders in which