Hungary “is no longer a full democracy” and the European Union “must bring it back in line with European values”, the European Parliament declared yesterday. The decision is a powerful vote against Viktor Orban’s government. The vote is mainly symbolic and does not change the course of decision-making in the European Union
Hungary is no longer a ‘full democracy’ and the European Union should do everything to bring it back to European values, members of the European Parliament said yesterday.
The European Union stated that the country should be treated as a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy” in which elections are held regularly but without respect for democratic norms.
“There is a growing consensus among experts that Hungary is no longer a democracy,” the lawmakers said. Thursday’s decision is seen as a powerful vote against Viktor Orban’s government, which has been in office since 2010 and has held a two-thirds majority in parliament for much of that time.
European lawmakers have also raised concerns about a long list of fundamental rights that they believe are at risk. Including the election system, independence of the judiciary, privacy, freedom of expression, media pluralism, academic freedom, rights and protection of minorities and asylum seekers.
Hungary ‘is no longer a full democracy’, European Parliament declares https://t.co/dlp3jwOXvQ
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 15, 2022
In their vote, EU lawmakers adopted a parliamentary report that said Hungary has retreated from democratic and basic rights since 2018 through “deliberate and systematic efforts by the Hungarian government.” The European anchoring democratic standards, exacerbated the deterioration. It is believed to be the first time that an EU institution has declared that a member state is not a proper democracy.
With reference to corruption, the European Commission is also expected to recommend in the coming days to suspend billions intended for Budapest from the bloc’s common budget for the years 2021-2027. It will be the EU’s first move under its new financial sanction dubbed “Cash for Democracy” agreed two years ago in response to Orban, as well as his allies in Poland, undermining liberal democratic principles within the bloc. The European Commission has already blocked about 6 billion euros coming to Budapest from the bloc’s separate economic stimulus package for Corona.