EU lawmakers move against Hungary over rule of law

European Union lawmakers voted on Wednesday to launch action against the Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban for allegedly undermining the bloc’s democratic values and rule of law. Hungary called the vote fraudulent and vowed to challenge it. The lawmakers voted 448-197 in favour of a report recommending the launch of a so-called Article 7 procedure, which could lead to the suspension of Hungary’s European Union voting rights. It is the first time in EU history that the European Parliament had initiated and approved such a motion, which needed a twothirds majority to pass and was approved by 69.4 per cent of the lawmakers. For years, Orban had been able to deflect much of the international condemnation thrown his way. Critics say that Hungary’s electoral system is disproportionate; media freedoms and judicial independence are dwindling; asylum-seekers and refugees are mistreated and there are limits placed on non-governmental organizations. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, echoing Orban’s longtime position, called the Wednesday’s vote “petty revenge” against Hungary for its tough anti-migration policies. “This decision condemning Hungary and the Hungarian people was made because we Hungarians have demonstrated that migration in not a necessary process and that migration can be stopped,” Szijjarto told reporters in Budapest. He also claimed that the vote involved “massive fraud” since abstentions weren’t counted into the final tally, which made it easier to reach the needed majority. There were 48 abstentions, so the 448 in favour exceeded the two-thirds needed only because it was based on 645 votes. If the abstentions were counted into the final tally, there would have been a total 693 votes, so the 448 in favour wouldn’t have reached two-thirds.