Ursula von der Leyen has been accused of striking a "dirty deal" with Hungary, as MEPs in the European Union gear up to take the bloc to court over the issue.
This came after the European Commission handed £8.5 billion to Hungary. The funding was initially frozen due to corruption and rule of law concerns with Hungary's government.
But the assembly has accused the commission of giving in to blackmail from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in order to get his approval to begin membership talks with Ukraine.
Posting on X, Verhofstadt said: "European Parliament ready to go to Court and abolish Hungarian voting rights…. to stop the Commission doing dirty deals with Orban…
Ursula von der Leyen has been accused of striking a "dirty deal" with Hungary,
PA
"When will [Ursula Von der Leyen] be Guardian of the Treaties, not friends with autocrats?"
The european Parliament yesterday voted to intruct its legal department to prepare the groundwork for a possible challenge at the European Court of Justice.
MEPs are trying to establish whether the commission took all necessary measures to "protect the EU's financial interests" in its engagement with Orban.
The European Commission has said it released the funds because Hungary had shown sufficient effort to address concerns over the rule of law, with Von der Leyen saying it had no option but to approve the funds.
She said: "These are the rules we have all agreed to. We will follow them. This is what makes the rule of law stand out from arbitrary power."
The EU is still blocking about £17billion (€20billion) in funds from Hungary.
MEPs have threatened legal action if any further funds are released without meeting the criteria to do so.
The resolution approved by parliament yesterday, which saw MEPs approve such legal action, said that Parliament will "use any of the legal and political measures at its disposal if the Commission releases funding without the criteria being fulfilled or if it fails to ensure the full implementation of the relevant legislation, considering its responsibility to act as the guardian of the Treaties and to protect the EU's financial interests."
It adds: "The Commission is politically accountable to Parliament."
Orban has been in a battle with the EU in recent months, repeatedly blocking EU plans to continue providing financial support to Ukraine.
He also threatened to derail the EU's plan to grant Ukraine membership, saying Hungary would not take a decision on the nation's accession to the bloc until EU leaders held a "strategic discussion" on the issue.
But after the funds were released last year, Orban allowed the bloc to approve accession talks.
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Von der Leyen is at odds with Orban on multiple issues, including Hungary's refusal to sanction Russia.
The country has maintained strong economic ties to the Russian regime and continues to import pipeline oil and gas from Putin.
