Parliament votes to punish Hungary

BRUSSELS >> European lawmakers voted Wednesday to initiate sanctions proceedings against the Hungarian government for what they said was backsliding on democracy, an extraordinary censure for a nation that was once a beacon of post-Communist transformation.

The measure, which required a two-thirds supermajority of the European Parliament to pass, declared there was a “clear risk of serious breach” of European values by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It was the first step in a process that could ultimately strip Hungary of its voice in decision-making in the European Union.

The decision creates head winds for Orban’s ambitious quest to remake the continent in his model of “illiberal democracy” — a bloc that would be closer to Russia, less open to migration, and less concerned about independent judiciaries, a free press and minority rights.

The vote on the proceedings, known as Article 7 after a provision in the EU treaties, was welcomed by Orban’s increasingly besieged foes inside Hungary, who saw it as their final hope to preserve democratic values at home, and his critics across Europe.

“The alt-right in Europe is trying to undermine this European Union,” Guy Verhofstadt, a Belgian member of the European Parliament, said ahead of the final tally. “And it is, in fact, trying to take over European politics from within.”