In a resolution supported by 81% of MPs present to vote, the parliament said Hungary has turned into a “hybrid electoral autocracy regime”, citing the breakdown of democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law. While the vote has no practical effect, it steps up pressure on EU authorities in Brussels not to disburse billions in EU cash to Hungary that is being withheld over corruption concerns. Hungary is struggling to convince the European Commission to release €4.64 billion in Covid recovery funds that have been frozen for more than a year. Budapest is also trying to prevent a separate legal process that could lead to the withholding of 24.3 billion euros from cohesion funds, money for infrastructure and economic development. The European Commission is expected to propose a 70% cut to Hungary’s cohesion funds on Sunday, but will also open the door to a compromise, according to two MEPs familiar with the discussions. “More or less what we are hearing is that the Commission will propose … these sanctions or economic measures,” said Moritz Körner, a German MEP who has been briefed by the Commission. In a recent internal document, Commission officials suggested there was “very significant” risk over Hungary’s management of EU funds, citing breaches of public interest rules and an unusually high number of contracts awarded to a single bidder – a red flag for transparency observers. The document, which has been removed from the commission’s website, suggests a 70% cut in funds as “proportionate” to the risk. Hungary will be given until mid-November to put its house in order. After a charm offensive in Brussels, Hungary’s government is next week expected to propose a series of anti-corruption laws. Critics fear the Commission is ready to accept cosmetic changes to defuse conflicts over EU funds. “The commission made a half-deal with the Hungarian government on the kind of change they want to see,” said Daniel Freund, a German Green MEP also briefed on the commission’s plans. “There is a very short time frame and… let’s wait for the damage that Orbán has done [his] The constitutional majority for 12 years can now be repaired in a few weeks or a few months, I think that’s optimistic to put it mildly.” Orban has been in power since 2010 and held a two-thirds parliamentary majority for much of that time. A European Commission spokesman declined to comment but said it was analyzing “the corrective measures” submitted by Hungary and had until September 21 to determine the next step. However, the European Parliament’s resolution, which points to “the dangers of clientelism, favoritism and nepotism in high-level public administration”, will make any increase in the protection of EU funds more difficult. Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, the French MEP who drafted the resolution, described the conclusions as clear and irrevocable. “Hungary is not a democracy. It was more urgent than ever for parliament to take this stand, given the alarming rate at which the rule of law is receding in Hungary.” He added that “the large majority of MEPs supporting this position in the European Parliament is unprecedented”. Of the 534 MEPs present at the vote in Strasbourg, 433 voted in favour, 123 against and 28 abstained. The large majority was helped by Orbán’s decision in 2021 to leave Europe’s centre-right political family, the European People’s Party (EPP). The EPP had previously offered Hungary’s Fidesz party some protection from crucial votes, but Orban withdrew his party before being pushed back by centre-right MEPs. The vote comes almost exactly four years after MEPs voted to impose disciplinary measures against Hungary, a decision that ultimately rests in the hands of the other 26 EU member states, which have mostly shown little appetite for conflict with Budapest. . MEPs, who do not have the power to deny funds to Hungary, accused the EU Council of Ministers and the European Commission of alleged inaction, a point made clear in the resolution. MEPs expressed “deep regret that the lack of decisive EU action has contributed to the collapse of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary, turning the country into a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”. The parliament’s damning conclusion was based on reports from bodies belonging to the Council of Europe, as well as the jurisprudence of the EU court and the separate European Court of Human Rights. MEPs also cited the verdict of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which said in April that Hungary’s election that returned Orban to power for a fourth consecutive term was “marred by the absence of a level playing field”. The OSCE sent a full mission to Hungary, an almost unprecedented step for an EU member state. The report also noted Hungarian judges’ concerns about judicial independence in their country, following numerous changes by the Orbán government, including the appointment of supreme court judges outside of normal procedures. The measure was opposed by MEPs from Eurosceptic and far-right parties. In a statement included in the draft resolution, they argued that the conclusions were “based on subjective opinions and politically biased statements” that reflected “vague concerns, value judgments and double standards”. These MEPs also claimed that the report was based on “cases settled a long time ago by the relevant bodies or concerning issues that are part of the public debate and fall within the exclusive competence of the Member States”.
