EU starts process to cut funding to Hungary over rule of law

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission will launch proceedings to suspend support payments to Hungary for breaching the 27-nation bloc’s rule-of-law standards. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement Tuesday. It will be the first time that the new mechanism allowing the EU to take measures to protect the budget will be used after the European Union’s highest court ruled in February that it had been adopted on sound legal basis. Hungary, a large recipient of EU funds, has come under increasing criticism over the past few years for veering away from democratic norms