On September 15 local time, the European Parliament voted to pass a resolution no longer regarding Hungary as a fully democratic country.
According to Agence France Presse and the British Guardian on September 15, the members of the European Parliament who attended the voters passed the resolution with 433 affirmative votes, 123 negative votes, and 28 abstentions. The resolution said that Hungary is currently in power as a democratically elected dictatorship mixed regime, which seriously violates the democratic norms of the European Union.
Although this vote will not have a practical effect, it will increase pressure on EU policymakers to provide billions of euros of recovery funds to Hungary. This fund has been frozen for more than a year. Some people worry that the corruption of the Hungarian government will affect the use of this fund.
Hungary also responded to the resolution of the European Parliament. According to the Guardian, Zolt á n Kov á cs, spokesman of the Hungarian government, said in response to the vote that if the European Parliament could focus on the soaring energy prices due to failed sanctions, it would do better. He also reiterated the Hungarian government's criticism of the EU's restrictive measures against Russia.
Agence France Presse reported that Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto Peter told reporters in the capital Budapest: If anyone questions Hungary's ability to understand democracy, I think it is an insult to Hungarians.
The vote was based on a report that said the European Parliament had launched Article 7 procedures in 2018 to review developments in 12 areas of concern to the Parliament.
The majority of the members of the European Parliament condemned the attempts of the Victor Orban Government to undermine the democratic foundations of Hungary. The European Parliament condemns the deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian Government to undermine European values and calls for results in the process under Article 7 of the EU Treaty.
Members of the European Parliament said that the lack of decisive action in the European Union had led to the emergence of a mixed electoral autocracy, that is, a constitutional system that held elections but did not respect democratic norms and standards.
The conclusion of this report is clear and irrevocable: Hungary is not a democratic country. Given that the rule of law in Hungary is retreating at an alarming rate, it is more urgent than ever for the Parliament to take this position, said the Rapporteur of the European Parliament on the situation in Hungary.
The European Parliament expressed regret that the European Council had failed to make significant progress in the fight against Hungary's departure from democracy, and said that further delay would mean that the Council itself violated the principle of the rule of law.
The members of the European Parliament called on the European Commission to make full use of all the tools at its disposal, in particular, to limit the funds provided to Hungary by the EU budget. Concerned about large-scale corruption in Hungary, the European Commission now plans to recommend reducing the funding to Hungary.