European Parliament to call for sanctions against Hungary

This was reported by a correspondent for European Pravda from Brussels.

The European Parliament has adopted another report criticising Hungary for violating European values.

The report critical of Hungary will be discussed during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 24-27 November. The discussion is scheduled for Monday, 24 November, and a vote on a resolution based on the report will be held during the same session.

According to the draft resolution, which is available to European Pravda, MEPs want to call on the EU Council to impose sanctions against Hungary and on the European Commission to resort to new legal mechanisms of pressure.

‘The European Parliament... deeply regrets that the lack of decisive action by the Commission and the Council has contributed to the decline of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary,’ the document says.

The text emphasises that the situation in Hungary, which ‘poses a threat to all the values of the European Union and its rule of law,’ continues to deteriorate.

MEPs reiterated that Hungary is no longer a democracy but has become a ‘hybrid regime of electoral autocracy’ and called on the EU Council to activate the procedure under Article 7(2) of the Treaty on European Union against Hungary.

MEPs also drew attention to the recent opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Tamara Čapetová, who confirmed that proceedings concerning violations of European values by a state can be initiated ‘in cases where the denial of values is the root cause of other violations of EU law.’

Accordingly, if the resolution is adopted, the European Parliament may call on the European Commission to initiate proceedings against Hungary before the EU Court of Justice, if the legal possibility is confirmed.

On 27 May 2025, the Council of the EU held regular hearings on Hungary under the Article 7 procedure, initiated by a reasoned proposal from the European Parliament in September 2018, but did not approve any decision.

Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union allows for the suspension of certain rights of a Member State, in particular voting rights, if there is a serious and persistent breach by a Member State of the fundamental values of the EU.

After Brussels closed a similar case against Poland in May 2024, Hungary is currently the only EU country against which sanctions proceedings have been initiated under Article 7 of the EU Treaty.

Source: European Pravda