• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, May 20, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Democracy at Risk

EU Parliament Votes to Stop Hungary’s ‘Threat’ to Democracy

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
09/12/18
in Democracy at Risk
Victor Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister, Victor Orban, said the EU should not earmark a 'single cent' for refugees in its coming budget. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The European Parliament on Wednesday launched an action that could unleash unprecedented political sanctions against Viktor Orban‘s populist Hungarian government for posing a “systemic threat” to the E.U.’s founding values.

The move dealt a stunning political blow to Prime Minister Orban, who had told the parliament a day earlier that a scathing report leading to the vote was an insult to Hungary’s honor and people.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wasted little time in slamming the vote as “nothing less than the petty revenge of pro-immigration politicians.”

With elections for a new parliament in May 2019, the vote reflects growing pushback among traditional parties in Europe against the rise of populists, who oppose migration and are accused of undermining the rule of law.

Adopted by 448 votes for to 197 against and with 48 abstentions, the motion marked the first time the parliament has itself initiated steps under Article Seven of the European Union’s treaty. An earlier action against Poland was initiated by the E.U. executive.

Dutch Greens MEP Judith Sargentini, who spearheaded the vote, smiled broadly and breathed a sigh of relief before embracing her supporters in parliament in the French city of Strasbourg.

“It is a positive sign of this parliament taking responsibility and wanting action,” Sargentini told a press conference afterward.

She had urged colleagues not to let Hungary off the hook, declaring that Orban’s eight-year rule “violates the values on which this union was built.”

I am so proud that my Hungary report has the support of the European Parliament, but this is foremost about the rights of Hungarian citizens.

I thank my colleagues that stand for the protection of democracy and the rule of law, above their interest in party politics.

— Judith Sargentini (@judithineuropa) September 12, 2018

The parliament issued a statement calling on E.U. countries to now “act against a member state to prevent a systemic threat” to such founding values as respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

The vote was based on a report that voiced concerns about judicial independence, corruption, freedom of expression, academic freedom, religious freedom, and the rights of minorities and refugees.

The vote takes the first steps under Article 7 of the E.U. Treaty, known by some in Brussels as the “nuclear option”, which could ultimately strip Hungary of its E.U. voting rights.

Other E.U. governments could halt any further action, however, and Poland has warned it would do so.

‘Historic Vote’

In a brief speech to parliament on Tuesday, Orban vowed that Hungary would resist any attempt to “blackmail” it into softening its anti-migrant stance, which he charged was the motive behind the vote.

Though defiant, he was resigned to the outcome, saying the parliament seemed to have already made up its mind.

“Hungary will protect its borders, stop illegal migration and defend its rights,” said Orban, who embraces a vision of a Christian Europe and opposes an influx of Muslim and other migrants.

Opposition to Orban’s vision does not just come from the left, with disquiet also in the main center-right parliamentary group, the European People’s Party (EPP).

The EPP’s leader, Manfred Weber, said he would vote in favor of the motion against Orban’s government, whose Fidesz party belongs to his grouping.

Weber, who is a candidate to succeed fellow EPP member Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the commission next year, saw his bloc voting 115 for, 57 against with 28 abstentions.

But Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs claimed in a tweet that the motion failed because the overall vote did not receive the support of two-thirds present.

It was not immediately clear if Budapest will launch a legal challenge. But parliament spokeswoman Marjory van den Broek told AFP the body’s legal services determined previously that “two-thirds of votes cast” is needed, with abstentions not counting as votes cast.

While Orban’s actions have provoked opposition, they have been applauded by populists in the E.U., with prominent far-right figures floating the idea of forging a pan-European alliance ahead of next year’s elections.

The Commission has repeatedly clashed with Orban’s government, especially since Budapest refused to admit asylum seekers under an E.U. scheme launched at the height of the migration crisis in 2015.

Wednesday’s vote was hailed as “historic” by Berber Biala-Hettinga, Amnesty International’s expert on human rights in the E.U.

“The European Parliament rightly stood up for the Hungarian people and for the EU. They made it clear that human rights, the rule of law and democratic values are not up for negotiation,” she said.

Hungary Adopts Law Penalizing Migrant Aid Groups

Share2Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Hungarians Protest PM Orban’s Chinese University Plan
World

Hungarians Protest PM Orban’s Chinese University Plan

by Staff Writer
June 5, 2021
A health worker holds a bottle of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
Featured

The Sputnik V Vaccine: A Scientific and Political Win for Russia

by Staff Writer
February 3, 2021
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Featured

Europe’s East-West Divide: Tolerance With Authoritarian Characteristics

by Zsolt Enyedi
July 14, 2020
Democracy Under Threat During Pandemic, Global Leaders Warn
Democracy at Risk

Democracy Under Threat During Pandemic, Global Leaders Warn

by Staff Writer
June 25, 2020
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Democracy at Risk

Hungary MPs Approve End of Controversial Emergency Virus Powers

by Staff Writer
June 16, 2020
A staff member checks the temperature of a guest entering the casino of the New Orient Landmark hotel in Macau on January 22, 2020
Opinion

COVID-19 Is No Excuse for Governments to Abuse Human Rights

by Anders L. Pettersson
May 1, 2020
Next Post
Christine Lagarde

Lessons Not Learned: US Financial System Still at Risk 10 Years After Crash

Protesters in Morocco

More People Internally Displaced in Ethiopia than Syria in 2018 [Report]

Recommended

Volkswagen logo

German Farmer Sues Volkswagen Over CO2 Emissions

May 20, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Russia Says Economy Grew 3.5 Percent in First Quarter

May 18, 2022
Mexico missing people

Over 100,000 People Reported Missing in Mexico, Data Reveals

May 17, 2022
Shireen Abu Akleh

Jerusalem Archbishop Condemns Israeli Police Raid at Journalist’s Funeral

May 16, 2022
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
Israel

15 European Nations Urge Israel to Reverse Plans for More Settler Homes

May 13, 2022

Opinion

A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
China Muslim Uyghurs

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

April 23, 2022
Ukraine war

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis and the Hierarchies of Western Compassion

April 20, 2022
Chinese leader Xi Jinping

How Wrong ‘How China Can End the War in Ukraine’ Is

April 1, 2022
Ukraine children

The War for Ukraine’s Lives and Minds

March 30, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post