European Parliament: Hungary has a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy; Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy

By RBJ
The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a report in which it condemns the “deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government” to undermine European values ​​and calls for results in the process provided for in Article 7 of the EU Treaty, informs a press release of the Commission for Civil Liberties, Justice and internal affairs (LIBE).
The lack of decisive action by the EU has contributed to the emergence of a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”, namely a constitutional system in which elections are held, but the observance of democratic norms and standards is absent, say MEPs.
The document adopted on Thursday, by 433 votes to 123 with 28 abstentions, is based on the report with which Parliament triggered the Article 7 procedure in 2018 (which can ultimately lead to a suspension of certain rights of a member state, in particular, of the right to vote in the EU Council, ed.), to provide an overview of developments in the 12 areas of interest of the Parliament.
It demonstrates how the values ​​enshrined in Article 2 of the EU treaties, including democracy and fundamental rights in this country, have further deteriorated since 2018 through the “deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government” and have been exacerbated by the lack of EU action.
According to the press release, the Parliament laments the inability of the EU Council to make significant progress to counteract the democratic regression in Hungary. Deputies emphasize that Article 7 paragraph (1) does not require unanimity between member states to identify a clear risk of serious violation of EU values, nor to issue specific recommendations and deadlines. They say that any further delay in taking action under Article 7 to protect EU values ​​in Hungary would constitute a breach of the rule of law by the Council.
The MEPs urge the Commission to make full use of all the instruments at its disposal and, in particular, the Regulation on budgetary conditionality.
At a time when EU values ​​are threatened in particular by Russia’s war against Ukraine and its anti-EU actions, they also call on the Commission to:
– to refrain from approving Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan until it fully complies with all relevant recommendations of the European Semester and implements all relevant judgments of the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights;
– to exclude from financing those cohesion programs that contribute to the abusive use of EU funds or violations of the rule of law;
– stricter application of the Common Provisions Regulation and the Financial Regulation to combat any misuse of EU funds for political reasons.
Four years after the report that started the Article 7 process, MEPs are still concerned about several aspects of democracy and fundamental rights in Hungary. Some of the main areas are the functioning of its constitutional and electoral system, the independence of the judiciary, corruption and conflicts of interest, and freedom of expression, including media pluralism. Academic freedom, religious freedom, freedom of association, the right to equal treatment, including the rights of LGBTIQ people, the rights of minorities, as well as those of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees are also problematic.
“The conclusions of this report are clear and irrevocable: Hungary is not a democracy,” said Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/ALE, France), the Parliament’s rapporteur on the situation in Hungary.
“It was more urgent than ever for the Parliament to adopt this position, given the alarming rate at which the rule of law is regressing in Hungary. Besides the recognition of Fidesz’s autocratic strategy, the large majority of deputies who support this position in the European Parliament is unprecedented. This should be an alarm signal addressed to the Council and the Commission”, added the French MEP, quoted in the statement.