On Tuesday 11 September, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to convince MEPs not to trigger the so-called Treaty Article 7 procedure on the rule of law that Judith Sargentini MEP (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) proposes in her report. Her report will require a two thirds majority of the votes cast on Wednesday 12 September in order to pass. But Orban did not open any door to compromise, continuing to justify his action to defend Hungary's borders in the face of illegal immigration.
Orban lashed out at the report which contains at least 37 factual errors and "scorns the honour of the Hungarian people". Branding the hemicycle as thinking it can tell the Hungarians what is good for them, Orban also said that the report imposed a moral obligation on them that is likely to deprive them of their rights afterwards, and likely to prevent them from asserting their interests. He also deplored the fact that the MEPs above all blame his country for not wanting "to become an immigration country".
A little earlier, Sargentini had reiterated the validity of her action and the scope of the infringements of the rule-of -law principles – from the independent judges that have been replaced, to the freedom of worship that is threatened, to the very difficult existence of NGOs (especially those coming to the assistance of migrants). She also denounced the enrichment of the Orban family, corroborated by a report from the Budgets committee that highlighted problems in public procurement, for example.
Faced with the member states, which have thus far done nothing, Sargentini believes the Commission cannot be alone in acting on the rule of law. "It is up to us to protect the rights of citizens."
The Commission, via its Vice-President Frans Timmermans, did not explicitly indicate what it wants as regards the outcome of the vote, but it listed many procedures launched against Hungary in recent years – and even more recently on its laws on asylum, NGOs and foreign universities.
Although the Austrian Presidency of the EU Council had cast doubt on his message, Austria's Secretary of State for the Interior Karoline Edtstadler spoke to assure the MEPs that the Council took the defence of European values very seriously. The EU Council will look at any proposal that is made to it, should the European Parliament adopt the Sargentini report on 12 September.
The new element rather came on Tuesday from German MEP Manfred Weber, who leads the EPP Group and said the group is ready to support Article 7 if Orban does not give pledges on NGOs or foreign universities. However, Weber (who is a candidate to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission president) did not hold back in criticising the situation of other countries – like in Romania with its current Socialist government.
For Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium) and Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium), it is clear that today's Hungary could not join the EU, they said during the debate.
While the ALDE family and the S&D and Greens are expected to support Sargentini unambiguously, the situation of the EPP is more complex and the group still had to decide on its position on Tuesday evening, especially after a new meeting with Orban. On the national delegations' side, the vote is expected to be scattered, like the Republicans, shared between those who will vote for the report (such as Françoise Grossetête, who has announced this) and those who are perhaps more cornered by their national contingencies. According to one source, a majority of the French delegation is expected to come out against the Sargentini report.
As far as the Austrian EPP MEPs are concerned, Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz gave a very clear signal on Monday evening by asking them to support Sargentini and speaking in favour of a procedure to exclude Orban's Fidesz Party from the EPP.
With regard to the Polish EPP delegation, it will be a vote in favour of opening Article 7, one source said. Moreover, this will be the position of all Polish MEPs at the European Parliament, with the exception of the ECR members and those from the ruling Law and Justice Party in Warsaw. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)