The European Parliament voted to withhold funding for Hungary as well as cutting Budapest's voting rights over Prime Minister Viktor Orban's failure to meet rule-of-law requirements.
Institutions in the EU are gearing up for another fight over Hungary and a contentious transfer of nearly $11 billion in funds to Budapest. On Thursday, the European Parliament decided to assess whether or not to take the bloc's executive branch, the European Commission, to court over allegations that it gave into blackmail from Orban.
That particular development is believed to have been related to the Hungarian prime minister's approval to start membership talks with Ukraine. In a 345-104 vote, the European Parliament decided and tasked its legal department to prepare the groundwork for a potential challenge at the EU's highest court.
It is looking to see whether or not the European Commission took all necessary measures "to protect the EU's financial interests" in its dealings with Prime Minister Orban. The parliament's vote came after a bruising debate in the plenary, as per the Associated Press.
During the debate, legislators of major center-right and center-left groups joined forces to criticize European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The scrutiny was over making sure that the money was approved just before Orban unexpectedly and crucially abstained from the Ukraine vote during a summit in December last year.
The money was only supposed to be released on the condition that Hungary showed enough effort to force through some rule-of-law reforms regarding judicial independence and political interference. During the plenary on Wednesday, von der Leyen said that the nation had pushed through measures to earn the release of funds.
The European Commission president said that she had no other option but to approve the Hungary funds and strongly denied the two issues were related. Von der Leyen said that they were all the rules that they agreed to, noting that they would continue to follow them.
On top of the controversy, the European Parliament also condemned Prime Minister Orban's decision to block amendments to the EU budget. These would have provided $54 billion to Ukraine, according to Meduza.
Non-Binding Resolution
European lawmakers have accused Hungary of making "deliberate, continuous, and systematic efforts" to undermine the EU's founding values. They added that the EU should not trade the strategic interests of the region and its allies by renouncing those values.
Officials have also called to put an end to Budapest's alleged abuse of the right of veto as well as the blackmail in the European Council and other European institutions. The latest resolution is non-binding but does raise the pressure on the European Commissioner as well as EU member states to "take a harder line" on releasing more money to Hungary.
In a statement, Hungarian liberal lawmaker Katalin Cseh said that they are serious when it comes to defending the rule-of-law. He added that they are not afraid of Prime Minister Orban's blackmailing attempts.
The situation comes after Orban accused MEPs of wanting to "strip people of their rights to make decisions on their future." In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he called it an "anti-democratic position," said Politico.
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