There is a clear risk of a serious breach of EU values by Hungary which justifies the triggering of the Article 7 mechanism, according to a draft report of the European Parliamentʼs Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) presented in Brussels on April 26.

The Article 7 procedure was designed to deter EU member states from advancing policies that threaten democratic institutions. The LIBE has examined the implemented of relevant EU legislation in Hungary, how fundamental rights are enforced and how the state treats its citizens, said Dutch MEP Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA), the lead report author, at the meeting. 

The report presented two weeks ago found that the Hungarian government had curbed the powers of the Constitutional Court and judicial independence and launched attacks against civil society. The state of press freedom and freedom of expression have also deteriorated in Hungary, it concluded. The EP committee proposed the launch of Article 7, "the so-called nuclear option", against the country. 

A number of MEPs strongly criticised the rule of law in Hungary. Even speakers from the same faction as PM Viktor Obran's Fidesz, the European Peopleʼs Party, struck a critical tone.

The Hungarian bill on NGOs that receive foreign funding, such as the Open Society Foundations of billionaire and Fidesz bogeyman George Soros, seriously and disproportionately affects their operations and goes against EU values, said shadow rapporteur Roberta Metsola of the EPP.

Social Democrat Josef Weidenholzer said concerns over the rule of law in Hungary had long been on the agenda and it was time to act. He said liberal democracy was in grave danger, adding that without liberal principles, democracy was an empty vessel. 

Hungary received support from the speaker of the Eurosceptic and anti-federalist political group, the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe. 

The LIBE draft report on Hungary is a bunch of patent lies which disregards facts and reality and amounts to a show trial, Peter Szijjarto said during the debate. Hungary's Foreign Minister repeated phrases used in Hungarian government communication. He said the government is coming under pressure as it "stands in the way of extremist pro-migration plans".

The debate between the Hungarian government and the LIBE is expected to continue, Szijjarto told a press conference.

The LIBE report is scheduled to be put to the vote in June and will go before an EP plenary in the autumn. It is at that point when Article 7 may be launched against Hungary.

The EU approached the issue of triggering Article 7 for the first time last year in response to Poland's controversial judicial reforms.