On Tuesday 25 November, the European Parliament adopted a new interim report following the 2018 one, finding that there is a clear risk of a serious and persistent breach of European values by Hungary. While this report updates the content of the 2018 and 2022 texts, it above all reflects the impatience of MEPs at the inaction of other institutions regarding the situation in Hungary, which continues to worsen. Parliament is now calling for the activation of the second paragraph of Article 7 of the Treaties, the one concerning sanctions.
Sophie Wilmès, shadow rapporteur: “We have shown a great deal of patience and goodwill. The Hungarian government was given every opportunity to put things right, but chose not to act. We have lost count of the hearings held at the Council on Hungary. We have expressed our concerns through a series of resolutions, exerted pressure through conditionality or the recovery plan (RRF), but now we must move to the next stage: officially establish the serious and persistent breach of the Union's values and trigger the sanctions provided for, which could go as far as suspending voting rights. We are calling for such a radical decision because, while we hesitate, Hungarian citizens are bearing the full brunt of the systematic violations of their fundamental rights.”
As a reminder, in September 2018 Parliament asked for the first time that the Council activate paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). This article, sometimes called the “nuclear option”, has two parts - one preventive, the other punitive - allowing serious and persistent breaches of the principles on which the Union is founded to be tackled. These values are set out in Article 2 and include freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
Since this initial request, the Council has limited itself to organising hearings within the General Affairs Council (GAC). This dialogue, however desirable, has clearly brought about no change in Hungary, where, on the contrary, the situation continues to deteriorate. The recent mission by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), of which Sophie Wilmès is a member, found no progress in April 2025 on any of the twelve areas of concern underlying Parliament's original request (such as judicial independence, corruption, freedom of expression and association, academic freedom, or equal treatment including LGBTQI+ rights).
This report is also marked by the inclusion of the European Semester for the Rule of Law project, officially championed by Sophie Wilmès for several months, thus becoming Parliament's official position. This European Semester will allow Article 7 to no longer be an isolated tool but to be integrated into a coherent framework bringing together the whole range of existing rule-of-law instruments. As a reminder, presented on 15 October, the European Semester for the Rule of Law is structured around a full annual cycle comprising several key stages; from the publication of the Commission's report to several “check-in moments” spread throughout the cycle, during which implementation of the recommendations would be rigorously assessed, potentially triggering specific instruments. In the process as envisaged, the European Parliament plays a key role.
Furthermore, the amendment tabled by Sophie Wilmès to combat the misuse of artificial intelligence for political disinformation purposes, particularly in an election context, was also adopted. What happened with the deepfakes targeting Péter Magyar, President Orbán's main opponent, eight months before the elections, is not a mere anecdote. Sophie Wilmès points out that a free election is not limited to the right to vote: citizens also have the right to access accurate and reliable information, a necessary condition for making a free and informed choice when going to the ballot box.