The EU has pledged to free a part of the funds earmarked for Hungary in exchange for Budapest allowing joint funding for Ukraine. Hungary has also announced it would start debating Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership.

For years, Brussels has been at loggerheads with the Hungarian government over a host of issues – migrants, the rights of minorities, media freedoms, the independence of the justice system and, most recently, over Russia and Ukraine. Long-standing tensions are coming to a head as Hungary delays a proposed EU aid package to Ukraine, while the EU holds up billions of euros in funding to Hungary over rule-of-law concerns.

After months of buildup, the European Commission has backed withholding billions of EU funds from Hungary. Despite recent reforms, Budapest must do more to address risks to core democratic standards, EU officials say.

Hungary's parliament approved two anti-corruption reforms to unlock funding from the European Union. The EU has long-expressed rule of law and graft concerns about the illiberal government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The European Parliament has called on the European Commission to take urgent action, saying that Hungary could "no longer be considered a democracy."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged for the global right to "coordinate the movement of our troops" at a conservative conference in Texas. Former US President Donald Trump is also expected to speak.

Hungary blocks finalization of EU sanctions package – DW's Christine Mhundwa reports

Hungary's far-right ruling party has proposed weakening the European Parliament and the EU's political integration. The passed resolution said democracy in the bloc was at a "dead end."

Hungarian leader Orban looks increasingly isolated —his pro-Putin stance has cost him most of his allies in the EU; the bloc could end up blocking all funds. And, there are protests at home for the first time in years.

For the latest edition of Europe Now, we head to Poland and Hungary. These two EU members both border Ukraine and have both taken in large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. But on more political issues, their governments' responses to the war have been drastically different. Our team meets lawmakers from across the political spectrum of both countries to discover why the Polish and Hungarian governments have taken such different stances. We also explore other key issues, such as the ever-expanding EU files on degradations of rule of law.

In the week that EU leaders agreed on a sixth round of sanctions against Russia, Polish Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Pawel Jablonski speaks to FRANCE 24 about the effect he hopes the measures will have on the Russian economy, his disappointment at the Hungarian government's stance regarding sanctions and the latest developments in Poland's rule of law dispute with the European Commission.

Hungary's government is "holding European Union decision makers hostage" by refusing to join an EU-wide embargo on Russian oil, according to Lithuania's foreign minister. This comes as EU leaders continue their efforts to gather support for a sixth sanctions package on Russia from all 27 EU member states. The government of PM Viktor Orban has claimed that an import ban on Russian oil would ruin the Hungarian economy. Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tells FRANCE 24 that "Europe is weaker" as a result, and that he is "still hoping Budapest will be responsible in their decisions".