The European Parliament accepted the resolution criticizing Hungary, which Fidesz rejects, saying that the body is biased. According to Balázs Hidvéghi , there are clearly those in the EP who do not want an agreement between the Commission and the Hungarian government, their hatred is so intense that reality no longer means anything to them.
With the support of more than seventy percent of the votes cast, the European Parliament adopted the new resolution on Thursday, which criticizes the Hungarian government as well as the European Commission for providing Hungary with EU resources.
Of the 478 representatives present and voting in the meeting hall, 345 supported the proposal, 104 voted against it and 29 abstained.
In the document, the European Parliament threatens the European Commission with legal action after 10 billion euros of frozen cohesion funds were released for Hungary.
In their resolution adopted on Thursday, the legislators condemned the Commission's decision and stated that Hungary did not fulfill the requirements of judicial independence. The resolution was supported by a large majority of the representatives.
"We still see that the rule of law, such as the independence of the judiciary, is in serious danger in Hungary, and therefore it is a bad move to partially unfreeze the funds now. It would be an even worse move if they freed up even more money. That's why we support bringing the Commission to court in this case," said Terry Reintke, German Green Party MEP representative.
Brussels is currently withholding more than 20 billion euros from the Hungarian cohesion and recovery funds. Budapest demands the release of all the money. However, in their resolution, the representatives said that "the EU must not give in to blackmail" and called on the member states to stand firmly against Viktor Orbán's veto policy.
"Everyone is very unhappy with the way the Commission and the Council are handling things. I think the consequence of this is that we have found ourselves in a situation where the entire continent and Ukraine are being held hostage by a single person, Mr. Orbán," said Sophie in 't Veld, Dutch MEP from Renew Europe.
The Hungarian ruling party rejected the criticism, saying that the European Parliament was biased.
"There are clearly people in this parliament who do not want an agreement between the Commission and the Hungarian government. Those who are not interested in details, who are not interested in facts and reality. They are so adamant and so vehemently anti-Hungarian and anti-Orbán that reality no longer matters to them," argued Balázs Hidvéghi, Fidesz EP representative.
According to the President of the European Commission, the partial release of funds for Hungary was justified. Von der Leyen stressed that the future of the remaining €20 billion depends on reforms to address rule of law issues, protect LGBTQ rights and ensure access to asylum.
The resolution adopted by the Parliament contains the following essential elements:
– EU institutions, values and resources must be protected during the upcoming Hungarian EU presidency.
- The EU "cannot give in to blackmail in any way and cannot bargain for the strategic interests of the EU and its allies by giving up its values in return".
- No EU money as long as the deficiencies persist.
MEPs will consider possible legal action related to the Commission's decision to release €10.2 billion.
