On Wednesday, 30 January, the European Parliament at its mini-plenary held an hour-long debate over the latest developments on the rule of law in Hungary. Key parliamentarians called on the Romanian presidency of the EU to put Hungary back on the agenda of the Council, another step up in pressure following the passage of a resolution last September that asked for the initiation of rule of law sanctions against the country. Under this procedure, known as the Article 7 procedure, allows EU member states to decide if a country breached EU values and fundamental rights and should be punished.

Austrian MEP Josef Weidenholzerof, of the S&D group, said, "Hungary is becoming a facade of a democracy".

Even more telling is that fellow EPP MEP Ingeborg Grassle, who oversees the use of EU funds, told representatives that Hungary "has a problem with fraud, with corruption, with public tendering and with the fact that the justice system doesn't want to deal with crimes, perhaps because there are people protecting the criminals there".

Council has 'all elements for its own assessment'

After listening in detail to all the latest developments regarding Hungary's democracy, judicial independence and rule of law, Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the European Commission, said, "I believe the council has now all elements to start its own assessment."

Timmermans warned the Parliament that the situation in Hungary had deteriorated since the adoption of the Sargentini report. He added that the EC is currently in dialogue with the Orbán government about the so-called Stop Soros legislation, which criminalizes activities of organizations that support asylum and residence applications. The government now has 60 days to respond, following which the infringement case could be referred to the European Court of Justice.

Furthermore, Timmermans listed a wide range of topics where there is an ongoing infringement case against Hungary. For example, the EC is analyzing the so-called slave law, which allows businesses to demand more overtime work but delay paying workers for it for up to three years. The law provoked mass street protests in Hungary at the end of last year. The higher education law amendment is also under scrutiny, as Timmermans told the plenary:

"Having a university forced to leave because of government measures and systematic pressure is unprecedented the history of the EU, and it is sad and worrying that this can happen in the EU."

The EC First Vice-President raised – along with several MEPs – the merger of over 400 media outlets in Hungary under a single media giant overseen by a board filled with government-affiliated people. Several EU representatives expressed their concern about the fact that the national competition and media authority was barred from investigating the merger.

Lastly, several MEPs and Timmermans raised the issue of creating a new administrative court system beginning in 2020 – fearing that the government will be able to handpick cases and compromise further the independence of judiciary in the country.

Hungary kept the debate low profile

Unlike in the past, when Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was keen to defend his decisions at the EP, this time Fidesz MEP Tamas Deutsch was chosen to represent the government. Deutsch said his country is on the agenda again to serve the European election campaign needs of the “left-wing liberal majority” and accused his colleagues of wanting "to threaten, blackmail and punish countries that reject migration".