Hungary Joins the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (“EPPO”) is the European Union’s independent prosecuting authority, established and operational since 1 June 2021. The EPPO can open and direct its own criminal investigations, order procedural measures, and bring cases directly before the courts of the Member States. The EPPO’s competence covers fraud, corruption, misappropriation and money laundering affecting the Union budget where the damage exceeds EUR 10,000.
Hungary’s participation in the EPPO has been a politically sensitive topic since the EPPO was established. Poland and Sweden, the other two Member States that had initially remained outside, joined in 2024, leaving Hungary as the only holdout, alongside Denmark and Ireland.
After the April 2026 parliamentary elections, EPPO membership formed part of the new government’s package of commitments aimed at unlocking the approximately 10 billion in EU recovery funds frozen over rule-of-law concerns. Hungary formally notified its intention to participate in May 2026, and on 10 July 2026 the European Commission adopted the decision approving Hungary’s accession, making Hungary the EPPO’s 25th participating Member State. This decision takes legal effect twenty days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and the EPPO’s jurisdiction will then apply retroactively to relevant offences committed from 1 June 2021 onward.
Extensive domestic legislative work still lies ahead, i.e. amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. The accession has significant effect on projects, public procurement and compliance: conduct that was previously subject only to domestic prosecutorial discretion, or at most to OLAF’s non-binding recommendations, will now fall within the direct investigative and prosecutorial reach of an EU-level authority with cross-border powers and a five-year retroactive scope.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (“EPPO”) is the European Union’s independent prosecuting authority, established and operational since 1 June 2021. The EPPO can open and direct its own criminal investigations, order procedural measures, and bring cases directly before the courts of the Member States. The EPPO’s competence covers fraud, corruption, misappropriation and money laundering affecting the Union budget where the damage exceeds EUR 10,000.
Hungary’s participation in the EPPO has been a politically sensitive topic since the EPPO was established. Poland and Sweden, the other two Member States that had initially remained outside, joined in 2024, leaving Hungary as the only holdout, alongside Denmark and Ireland.
After the April 2026 parliamentary elections, EPPO membership formed part of the new government’s package of commitments aimed at unlocking the approximately 10 billion in EU recovery funds frozen over rule-of-law concerns. Hungary formally notified its intention to participate in May 2026, and on 10 July 2026 the European Commission adopted the decision approving Hungary’s accession, making Hungary the EPPO’s 25th participating Member State. This decision takes legal effect twenty days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and the EPPO’s jurisdiction will then apply retroactively to relevant offences committed from 1 June 2021 onward.
Extensive domestic legislative work still lies ahead, i.e. amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. The accession has significant effect on projects, public procurement and compliance: conduct that was previously subject only to domestic prosecutorial discretion, or at most to OLAF’s non-binding recommendations, will now fall within the direct investigative and prosecutorial reach of an EU-level authority with cross-border powers and a five-year retroactive scope.