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Hungary published stricter Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) control and audit rules on 7 August 2026, tightening conflict-of-interest screening and mandating use of the ARACHNE+ risk-assessment system. The measures form part of a final push to complete all supermilestones before the 31 August deadline for securing EUR 10bln in EU recovery funding. Separately, Hungary's membership of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) took legal effect on 2 August 2026.
What happened: The newly published rules clarify conflict-of-interest obligations, broaden control body duties, and make ARACHNE+ — the EU's data-mining tool screening for corruption, fraud and double financing — mandatory across all RRF and EU-funded programmes. Separately, Hungary became the 25th EPPO member state on 2 August, giving the European prosecutor independent jurisdiction over EU financial crimes retroactively to June 2021.
The broader timeline remains unchanged: all eligible milestones must be completed by 31 August, the final payment request must be submitted by 30 September, and Commission disbursements can be made through 31 December 2026.
Why it matters: The new rules impose a materially heavier compliance burden on any entity touching EU-funded contracts — energy grid upgrades, rail reform, projects financed by the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB), healthcare and education infrastructure — through heightened due diligence, disclosure and audit exposure. ARACHNE+, previously a voluntary risk-scoring tool, is now a mandatory compliance layer that processes personal data of beneficiaries, contractors, subcontractors and beneficial owners against external databases. With EPPO now legally operational in Hungary, EU fund fraud is no longer solely a matter for national prosecutors: EPPO has independent jurisdiction and can investigate retroactively as far back as June 2021.
Who is affected: Public procurement contractors, subcontractors and financial intermediaries involved in EU co-financed projects; banks and funds handling the MFB's EUR 2bln RRF-backed capital increase; energy, rail, construction, healthcare and education infrastructure providers; and any entity receiving or bidding on EU-funded programmes.
What to watch next: Businesses should keep in mind the 31 August milestone completion deadline, September payment request submissions, the Commission's compliance assessment in Q4 2026, EPPO's appointment of Hungarian prosecutors and opening of its first investigations, and intensified ARACHNE+ compliance checks through Q3. Entities with pending EU-funded contracts should prepare audit trails now.
Gabor
Kulcsar
Associate
austria vienna