EP sounds alarm over Hungary's 'deepening rule of law crisis'

The European Parliament has adopted its second interim report on "Hungary's persistent undermining of the rule of law and its continuous breaches of EU values", Report informs, citing the Parliamet's press service.

Adopted with 415 votes in favour, 193 votes against and 28 abstentions, Parliament's report on the Article 7 procedure (which MEPs triggered in 2018) takes stock of developments across all 12 areas of concern - including the functioning of the electoral system, judicial independence, and corruption.

Reviewing developments in Hungary, MEPs denounce that Hungary's supreme court revisits EU Court of Justice judgments before they are applied in Hungary (in contravention to standard practice), as well as threats to judicial independence, and Hungary's systematic refusal to implement judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. They also highlight the link between corruption and electoral integrity, including clientelist networks, and persistent obstacles faced by Hungary's anti-corruption body, potentially putting at risk the entirety of EU funds allocated to Hungary. They criticise the Commission's decision to release cohesion funds (challenged by Parliament before the Court) and stress the need to ensure the final recipients of EU funds, including civil society, are not deprived of financial support.

Other issues Parliament criticises include the government's systematic weakening of Hungary's national judicial council, its failure to uphold the rights of its citizens, its threats to academic freedom, its politically motivated business practices, its allocation of state advertising to government-friendly outlets, and its de facto constitutional ban on Pride marches.

MEPs are concerned by the increasing use of unlabelled AI-generated political content in Hungary ahead of the 2026 elections, notably the deliberate posting of deepfake videos on social-media channels closely linked to the prime minister's political party and campaign, and their coordinated amplification. They note that these materials are concerning in the context of the Digital Services Act and the EU"s data protection rules as well as the AI Act, while stressing that the deliberate use of AI-generated content to mislead voters, discredit opponents and distort the integrity of electoral processes may contravene national electoral standards and pose a serious threat to the fairness of democratic elections.

The European Parliament notes that Hungary's situation has continued to deteriorate, partly due to the Council's lack of progress in protecting the rule of law, and reiterates Hungary's transformation into a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy", once again calling for direct action under Article 7(2) TEU. The report condemns Hungary's repeated use of its Council veto as leverage, as well as its transactional use of budgetary instruments and the existence of loopholes potentially allowing it to circumvent EU Conditionality Regulation restrictions.

MEPs expect the Commission's investigation into alleged Hungarian espionage within the EU institutions to be delivered as soon as possible, addressing the role of Commissioner Várhelyi (who was the head of the Permanent Representation of Hungary at the time of the alleged acts), and they stress that findings should lead to tangible consequences for those involved.