Terminating the Article 7 procedure against Hungary is long overdue
Brussels stays silent as the Tisza majority bars half of the opposition from running for office
Brussels, 29/10/2026 - The European Parliament's Democracy, Rule of law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group of the LIBE Committee sent a delegation to Budapest to assess the respect of rule of law and democratic values in Hungary. The central focus of the visit was to collect information ahead of the plenary debate in the European Parliament about the termination of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary.
The Article 7 procedure has only been used against conservative national governments which have dared to criticize the misguided policies pursued by EU institutions. The launch of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary in 2018 was clearly politically motivated and it was abused in order to put pressure on the former conservative government.
The never-ending procedure is a mockery of the principle of the rule of law itself. The Patriots for Europe Group demands that the Article 7 procedure against Hungary be terminated immediately and unconditionally. This is in fact long overdue.
As usual, the agenda of the latest mission to Budapest was heavily biased to the benefit of leftist and liberal NGOs and opinions. The requests to include in the agenda meetings with recently removed leaders of independent authorities, former constitutional court members and conservative-leaning experts was almost entirely ignored and without any explanation given. The request to include in the agenda the situation of politicians currently in pre-trial detention in Hungary was also ignored. Lawfare and the weaponization of the justice system against political opponents is incompatible with democratic and rule of law standards.
Despite the heavily biased agenda, the decision taken by the ruling Tisza majority in parliament to exclude half of the members of parliament of the opposition from candidacy at the next elections, and also from a wide range of other public offices, clearly violates democratic freedoms and impedes on political pluralism. Several interlocutors underlined that they oppose the idea of putting term limits on members of the legislative branch. The delegation also discussed the extraordinary concentration of powers in the hands of the newly formed National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection. The combination of police, investigative and prosecutorial powers should be matched with equally powerful safeguards and options for legal remedy against the abuse of these powers. Proof of the existence of such safeguards were not presented before the delegation.
Despite years of dishonest political attacks against the patriotic government of Hungary led by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and wild accusations of a rigged electoral system, democratic elections in April were followed by a swift shift in government. The opposition parties received the support of a total of 45 percent of voters and the opposition's democratic mandate should be respected accordingly.
Note: The representative of the Patriots for Europe Group in the DRFMG mission to Budapest, similarly to the representatives of the ECR and ESN Groups, did not support the joint press statement published in the name of the mission because it did not accurately represent the discussions which took place.