Orban’s ‘illiberal’ regime braces for EU democracy test

Bloomberg

European lawmakers will make final arguments on whether Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “illiberal” government should be subject to the European Union’s strictest sanctions for threatening democracy and the rule-of-law in the world’s largest trading bloc. The 751-member European Parliament has never before voted to trigger Article 7 of the EU treaty against a member state, which could ultimately lead to the suspension of a government’s vote in the EU. Orban will speak at the debate in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday, a day before the vote. Two-thirds of lawmakers need to agree that Hungary poses a “clear risk of a serious breach” of EU values to start the process.
The venue is the next battleground between supporters of liberal democracy in the EU and populists inspired by Orban’s anti-immigration and EU-bashing policies. Sweden became the latest country over the weekend to see a surge in populist votes after similar forces pushed Britain towards exiting the EU and catapulted political bedfellows to power in Poland and Italy. The European Commission has already backed an Article 7 process to rein in officials in Warsaw. Even as sanctions against Hungary are unlikely—ultimately a unanimous decision would be required for that —the vote will be a test of the EU’s commitment to defend its values before elections for European Parliament next year, where populists are angling to wrest control over the bloc’s direction.