Debate: Conditionality as a rule-of-law instrument—A perspective from Hungary

Conditionality, in the context of European Union (EU) policies, is a policy instrument linking ‘the granting of certain benefits, especially financial aid, with the implementation of specific policies and reforms or the fulfilment of concrete conditions’ (Becker, 2025, p. 402). This subject has attracted significant academic attention, particularly since the accession wave of the 2000s. Similarly, there is ample and rapidly growing scholarship on the threats to the EU’s fundamental values, including principles of democracy and the rule of law in different EU member states, and the policy responses to these problems. In this context, the term ‘rule of law’ (RoL) refers to such values as legality, legal certainty, prohibition of arbitrariness, independent and impartial courts, and respect for fundamental rights (Beqiraj & Moxham, 2022). In a broader sense, however, it is inseparable from ‘the values of democracy and fundamental rights’ (European Union, 2014, p. 3).