This time, our right of veto was targeted by the state resigning from its consecutive presidency.
Although Belgium continues to support Hungary taking over the presidency of the European Union from July, hoping that the Orbán government will respect EU values, the Belgian foreign minister nevertheless believes that it is time for the EU to act boldly and suspend Hungary's right to vote in EU decision-making by applying the procedure according to article seven, Politico has learned.
Belgium, whose presidency of the European Union will soon end, has decided to
takes radical steps and urges EU member states to seriously consider the possibility of depriving Hungary of its right to vote,
when he takes over the presidency from July. This proposal has been raised several times in recent years, but with the approach of the successive Hungarian presidency, it has now been put on the table again.
We have a Europe that is making progress with difficulty, and unfortunately some states (one state in particular) are increasingly adopting a blocking and veto attitude, said Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, who is an enthusiastic supporter of promoting the EU Article 7 procedure against Budapest.
"I think we have to be brave in our decisions: […] we will activate Article 7 until the end, which stipulates the end of the veto," the politician added.
The procedure according to Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union was introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997. According to Article 7 (1), the Council can determine that there is a clear risk of a violation of EU values in the case of a member state and can formulate specific recommendations for the member state to prevent actual violations of the basic values. The article can be activated by one third of the member states, or by the European Parliament or the Commission. In 2018, the European Parliament initiated the first stage of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary, but the process stalled.
Cover image: The fault lines in the EU are deepening
Source: Facebook
