Hungary faces punishment for undermining democratic values

HUNGARY faces the loss of its EU voting rights after MEPS triggered a punitive procedure to prevent member countries backsliding on democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

In an unprecedented vote that exposed deep EU divisions, the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday backed a report calling for Hungary to be sanctioned for its crackdown on non-governmental organisations, the media and universities.

Péter Szijjártó, Budapest’s foreign minister, denounced the vote to trigger the Article 7 procedure as the “petty revenge” of “pro-immigration politicians”. He also claimed that the vote involved “massive fraud” since abstentions were not counted into the final tally, which made it easier to reach the needed majority.

“It is a positive sign of this parliament taking responsibility and wanting action,” Judith Sargentini, the Dutch Green MEP who spearheaded the vote, said. “Viktor Orbán’s government has been leading the charge against European values by silencing independent media, replacing critical judges and putting academia on a leash,” she added.

Hungary has long been at loggerheads with Brussels over its opposition to the EU’S mandatory migrant quotas and Mr Orbán, the country’s prime minister, has allied himself with Eurosceptic leaders such as Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister. British Conservative MEPS voted against punishing Hungary, which Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman said was “absolutely shocking”. Downing Street claimed that it was not consulted before the vote.

It is the first time Article 7 has been triggered by the European Parliament. Poland is already facing the procedure after it was brought by the European Commission. Although the “nuclear button” of Article 7 has been pushed, the ultimate sanction of a loss of voting rights is a long way off. EU member states must unanimously back any further action, which appears unlikely.

Budapest has vowed to veto any attempt to strip Warsaw of its EU voting rights in the European Council in Brussels. Poland, in turn, has warned it will block further action against Hungary.