The European Parliament calls Hungary an “electoral autocracy” and asks to freeze European funds

The plenary session of the European Parliament approved this Thursday -by 433 votes in favour, 123 against and 28 abstentions- a harsh report that maintains that the Hungary of Viktor Orban has ceased to be a full democracy to become a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy“. That is, a constitutional system in which elections are held, but which do not respect democratic norms and standards.

MEPs maintain that Hungary’s authoritarian drift has worsened in the last 4 years due to the “deliberate and systemic efforts of the government” of Orbán. But also denounce the “inaction” of the EU, which has been unable to apply the sanctions provided for in Article 7 of the Treaty for countries that violate European values. In this sense, the European Parliament calls for freezing all European aid to Hungary until it complies with the recommendations of Brussels and the rulings of the Court of Justice.

Indeed, the Commission Ursula von der Leyen plans to propose this Sunday the freezing of billions of euros of community funds to Hungary for the cases of widespread corruption and fraud in the country. It will be the first time that the new regulation that conditions the payment of European aid to respect for the rule of law has been activated.

[Bruselas lanza el expediente para congelar fondos a Hungría por corrupción y fraude]

The exact amount of European aid that Hungary could lose is still unclear. The Budget Commissioner, the Austrian Johannes Hahn, proposed in July to suspend 70% of the funds for three specific programs for the environment, transport and energy. According to the Hungarian press, this would be equivalent to around 8.8 billion euros frozen.

The Community Executive is now considering revise slightly downwards the amount (up to 60% or 50% of the programs in question) to reflect that in recent weeks the Orbán government has begun to move to meet the demands of the EU. His combative Minister of Justice, Judith Vargas, has launched a diplomatic offensive to try to convince the Commission not to freeze the funds. A change of position that reflects the seriousness of the economic crisis that the country is experiencing.

Hungary now offers to create a new anti-corruption office, reform the rules for bidding and awarding public contracts and launch a new system of public declaration of assets and income of members of Parliament. Nevertheless, none of these initiatives have been approved yetand the legal deadlines force Brussels to go ahead with the sanctions: the procedure was launched in April and the legal deadline to make a decision expires on September 21.

In any case, the Community Executive will leave the door open for dialogue. The final decision on the freezing of funds must be made by the Governments of the 27, which have a period of up to three months. If Orbán passes the new anti-corruption laws in late October or early November, as he plans, the file could be closed without consequence. The recovery plan would be pending Next Generation from Hungary, whose endowment amounts to €7.2 billion and has been paralyzed for more than a year.

In the report approved this Thursday, the European Parliament reiterates its concern about numerous issues relating to democracy and fundamental rights in Hungary. The main areas of concern include the functioning of the constitutional and electoral systems, the independence of the judiciary, corruption and conflicts of interest and freedom of expressionincluding informative pluralism.

Academic freedom, freedom of religion and 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 problem areas for the European Parliament.

“The conclusions of this report are clear and irrevocable: Hungary is not a democracy. It was more urgent than ever for Parliament to take this position, given the alarming rate at which the rule of law in Hungary is deteriorating. In addition to confirming Fidesz’s strategy towards autocracy, the vast majority of MEPs who support this position is unprecedented. This should serve as a wake-up call for the Council and the Commission,” said the report’s rapporteur, French Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield.