European Parliament Prepares New Sanctions Against Hungary for Violations of EU Values
The European Parliament continues to take a firm stance regarding Hungary’s issues, expressing intentions to impose new sanctions in response to systematic violations of the rule of law and European Union values.
On November 5, the Civil Liberties Committee adopted its second interim report under Article 7 procedures, initiated back in 2018, which aims to evaluate the situation of democracy and rights in Hungary.
The plan is to formalize this criticism in an official document and discuss it during the upcoming plenary session in Strasbourg from November 24 to 27.
Participants in the debates highlighted serious breaches of democratic principles and urged the European Commission to activate legal mechanisms to press on Budapest, including initiating sanctions and additional legal measures.
The resolution, which is to be adopted after the discussion, emphasizes the need to activate Article 7(2) of the EU Treaty, which allows suspending certain rights of a member state in cases of persistent breach of fundamental values.
An important factor is the recent ruling by Advocate General Tamar Chypeta of the EU Court, who confirmed the possibility of initiating proceedings against violations of core values when such denial becomes the primary cause of other legal breaches.
This potentially opens the door for new legal actions against Hungary, including lawsuits in the EU Court.
However, it should be noted that the European Court has not yet issued a final decision on sanctions procedures, although Hungary remains the only country currently under Article 7 process, unlike Poland, where the case was closed in May 2024.
Depending on political will and legal processes, these actions could significantly impact the future of democracy in the region.
The situation remains tense, and there is widespread discussion about imposing more stringent measures against the Hungarian government, which threatens the fundamental values of the European Union.