Hungary: EU report recommends triggering Article 7
April 12, 2018
A report for the European Parliament accuses Hungary of serious violations of EU values and recommends triggering sanction proceedings. It's unclear, however, whether the measure has enough support to pass.
Democracy and rule of law are under threat in Hungary, according to a report commissioned by the European Parliament that was presented on Thursday.
Dutch MEP Judith Sargentini, who was tasked with writing the report, recommended initiating Article 7 sanctions proceedings against Hungary, which could further widen the divide between Brussels and Budapest.
Sargentini wrote in the report that the "facts and trends" uncovered in her research "represent a systemic threat to democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary."
"The time of merely issuing warnings has passed. We need to stand up for the Hungarian people whose rights have been undermined by their government," she said in a video statement.
Sargentini listed 12 problem areas in Hungary, including: the independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression, rights of migrants and refugees, corruption, and the rights of minorities "including Roma and Jews."
Viktor Orban's most controversial migration comments
Hungary's right-wing prime minister has been one of Europe's leading voices against migration into the EU. Unafraid of controversy, he has described migration as an "invasion" and migrants as a "poison."
Image: Reuters/B. Szabo
'Muslim invaders'
"We don't see these people as Muslim refugees. We see them as Muslim invaders," Orban said in a recent interview with German daily Bild newspaper. The 54-year-old prime minister of Hungary added: "We believe that a large number of Muslims inevitably leads to parallel societies, because Christian and Muslim society will never unite." Multiculturalism, he said, "is only an illusion."
Image: Reuters/F. Lenoir
'You wanted the migrants, we didn't'
When asked by Bild whether it was fair for Germany to accept hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants while Hungary accepted none, Orban responded: "The difference is, you wanted the migrants, and we didn't." Migration, he said, threatens the "sovereignty and cultural identity" of Hungary.
Image: Reuters/L. Balogh
'Migration is poison'
It was not the first time the Hungarian leader has framed migration as a problem for his country. In 2016, he said that Hungary "does not need a single migrant for the economy to work, or the population to sustain itself, or for the country to have a future." He added: "for us migration is not a solution but a problem ... not medicine but a poison, we don’t need it and won’t swallow it.”
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP Photo/P. Gorondi
'Importing homophobia'
Orban has repeatedly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her decision to allow over a million migrants into Germany in the summer of 2015. Orban told Bild in early 2016: "If you take masses of non-registered immigrants from the Middle East into your country, you are importing terrorism, crime, anti-Semitism, and homophobia."
Image: Reuters/L. Balogh
'All terrorists are basically migrants'
Orban has also repeatedly criticized the EU for trying to get member states to share refugees based on national quotas. In a 2015 interview with POLITICO, he suggested the bloc's leaders instead focus more on strengthening the EU's external border. In the same interview, he said: "Of course it’s not accepted, but the factual point is that all the terrorists are basically migrants."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Bozon
'Parallel societies'
Orban has found allies in other right-wing governments in eastern Europe such as Poland that also oppose the EU's refugee policies. In an interview with Spanish TV channel Intereconomia in 2015, Orban raised fears about integrating Muslim migrants in the EU when he said: "What sort of Europe do we want to have? Parallel societies? Muslim communities living together with the Christian community?"
Image: Reuters/K. Pempel
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Orban vs. the EU: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's relationship with Brussels remains strained. The EU has threatened triggering Article 7 in the past over Orban's push to restructure Hungary's media, government and justice system. One particular bone of contention has been Orban's refusal to implement a European Court of Justice decision demanding it accept refugees under a bloc-wide quota resettlement system.
What is Article 7? Article 7 is a mechanism of the Lisbon Treaty that opens a path for sanctions against a member state and a temporary loss of EU Council voting rights. It is triggered when a member state violates European values and the rule of law. It was invoked for the first time last year against Hungary's ally Poland.
Does it have enough support to pass? It's unclear how many MEPs back the measure. The European People's Party (EPP), which consists of Orban's Fidesz party as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), strongly opposes disciplinary moves against Hungary. The EPP is the largest party in the EU Parliament.
What happens next: The Civil Liberties Committee will vote on the report in June and it will be put to a vote before the rest of the EU Parliament in September. It will need a two-thirds majority in order to pass parliament before moving on to the EU Council.
