Abstract The Oligocene–Sarmatian paleostress data and the data on the timing of the main Carpathian– Pannonian fault systems show that tectonic events can be characterized in eight periods. Oligocene was characterized by strike-slip-controlled stretching of the eastern Alpine domain, which continued during the Egerian. Egerian was the onset time for the first strike-slip faults inside the ALCAPA (Eastern Alps–Carpathians–Pannonian Basin) microplate. The eastward Alpine movements slowed down in Ottnangian, whereas the ALCAPA strike-slip system became denser. Karpatian was the time of northeastward movements of ALCAPA along a couple of bounding strike-slip fault systems, which were most effective during early Badenian. The northwestern strike-slip boundary of ALCAPA progressively became inactive in the eastward direction during middle Badenian. The ALCAPA started to experience the eastward expansion of the normal faulting from its western end during the same time. The eastward motion of the ALCAPA microplate further slowed down during the late Badenian, and a separate motion of the Tisza–Dacia microplate initiated. ALCAPA stopped in Sarmatian and accommodated a separate eastward motion of Tisza–Dacia by west–east extension. The data on fault timing and kinematics indicate that the subduction rollback in the remnant Carpathian Flysch Basin was the most important driving mechanism of the Carpathian– Panonian development, which controlled the northeasterly distance traveled by the ALCAPA microplate and its internal deformation. The terminal collision, oceanic slab break-off, Eastern Alpine lateral extrusion, and the topography and rheology of the orogenic foreland were less important driving mechanisms.