In a vote on Thursday, the 18th of January, a majority of MEPs voted in favour of a non-binding resolution urging other European Union (EU) countries to use the EU Treaties to assess whether Hungary has committed serious and persistent violations of EU values, thus calling on the EU Council to consider stripping Hungary of its voting rights on EU matters. The resolution also calls for an EU court case against the European Commission (EC) over the unfreezing of Hungary’s funds, reports Politico.
The resolution was adopted by 345 votes to 104, with 29 abstentions.
The decision comes ahead of an upcoming summit of EU leaders which will try to persuade Hungary to reconsider its position on EU funding for war-torn Ukraine.
Hungarian liberal legislator Katalin Cseh said the EP vote showed a commitment to upholding the rule of law in the EU, underlining its position against alleged blackmail attempts by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. She expressed the view that
EC must now face own consequences for undermining EU values.
Earlier, Orbán had accused MEPs of wanting to “deprive people of the right to decide their own future”, he wrote on X, stressing that this was an anti-democratic stance.
The EP vote has no legal force as it is not within the Parliament’s competence to adopt such measures. But it serves as a political signal, underlining MEPs’ frustration with Prime Minister Orbán’s backsliding on the rule of law and the lack of action the EU has taken to address it.
MEPs’ call to take the EC to the EU’s Court of Justice is linked
to their outrage at the Commission’s decision to unfreeze 10.2 billion euros for Hungary. The legal affairs committee, together with Parliament’s legal service, will assess the feasibility of bringing such a case, which would first ask the court to examine the legality of the Commission’s fund unfreezing.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs this week that the move was justified, but she angered some MEPs by leaving the Chamber before the end of the debate.
However, the EP did not support the Renew Europe group’s offer to threaten to withdraw confidence in the Commission if more funds were unfrozen for Hungary.
Also rejected was the far-left parties’ bid to suspend Hungary’s rotating presidency of the EU Council from July to December this year, reports Politico.
Also read: On the eve of EU summit, EC unlocks 10.2 billion euros for Hungary
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