Left-wing MEPs have called on Brussels to revoke Hungary’s veto power as its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refused to join the bloc line on the Ukraine war during the ongoing special European Council Summit.
Leading the charge was German Green MEP Daniel Freund, a longtime Orbán critic, who has demanded the European Union invoke Article 7 to punish Hungary for its refusal to back a joint declaration on Ukraine.
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Article 7 allows Brussels to suspend a member state’s EU voting rights if it is deemed to be violating the bloc’s values.
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Another left-wing MEP, Daniel Boeselager, founder of the pan-European and EU-Federalist movement Volt, urged EU leaders to take action against Hungary.
“There is a democratic tool to remove Orban‘s voting rights. We need enhanced cooperation on defence,” he said on March 2.
“Wake up, European leaders. Time is running through your hands. Unite,” he added.
These comments followed Orban’s letter to European Council President Antonio Costa in which he told Costa that Hungary had strategic differences with the bloc over Ukraine.
“It has become evident that Hungary has strategic differences in our approaches to Ukraine that cannot be bridged by drafting or communication,” the Hungarian PM wrote on March 1.
He asked the EU to align itself with the US stance on conflict resolution.
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Slovakia has joined Hungary in refusing to sign the EU’s joint declaration on Ukraine, with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico challenging Brussels’ approach to the conflict.
Not so sure, they have fallen in line more with the EU after the US went insane
Even then, I imagine Fico to be concerned he could be next if he helped get rid of Orbáns veto.
Kind of different situation though. Slovakia hasn’t been subject to the democratic backsliding as Hungary as far as I know and doesn’t violate EU values or norms. So far the prime minister is just a tool