The European Parliament on Thursday, 15 September, condemned the "deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government" to undermine European values, calling it a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy" in a resolution.
The resolution was adopted with 433 votes for, 123 against, and 28 abstentions.
Hungary is currently ruled by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters in Budapest that he considers "it an insult against a Hungarian person if someone questions Hungary's capacity for democracy."
Independence of the judiciary, corruption, and basic human freedoms remain the major concerns of the European Parliament.
The resolution was adopted based on Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, which allows the organisation to suspend certain rights of a member state.
"The conclusions of this report are clear and irrevocable: Hungary is not a democracy. It was more urgent than ever for the Parliament to take this stance, considering the alarming rate at which rule of law is backsliding in Hungary. Beyond acknowledging Fidesz’s autocratic strategy, the large majority of MEPs supporting this position in the European Parliament is unprecedented. This should be a wake-up call for the Council and Commission," Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA, FR), the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the situation in Hungary, was quoted as saying.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)