Current status:
The European Parliament has agreed on a resolution that proposes stripping Hungary of its EU Council voting rights. On 16 January, Member of the European Parliament Petri Sarvamaa announced this development on his X/Twitter account.
The EU’s attempt to secure a crucial €50 billion financial aid package for Ukraine faced a setback as Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, vetoed the proposal on 15 December 2023.
According to Sarvamaa, the parliament is set to vote on this resolution on Thursday, 18 January.
The resolution’s primary focus is the initiation of procedures under Article 7.2 of the EU Treaty to strip Hungary of its voting rights and to start a parliamentary investigation into the legality of the European Commission’s decision to unfreeze €10 billion in funds for Hungary in December 2023, as reported by Euractiv.
Article 7.2 allows the Parliament, with a two-thirds majority approval, to call on Hungary to answer before the European Council on its breaches of the rule of law. This could lead to the suspension of Hungary’s voting rights. The draft agreement of the resolution, as obtained by Euractiv, also directs the Committee on Legal Affairs to take the necessary steps to review the legality of the Commission’s decision before the Court of Justice.
However, the move to restrict Hungary’s rights within the EU faces opposition. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has pledged to veto any decisions aimed at limiting Hungary’s rights in the European Union.
New update:
The European Parliament supported on Jan. 18 the resolution calling on the European Council and member states to suspend Hungary's voting rights, said Petri Sarvamaa, a senior member of the European Parliament (MEP).
Earlier this month, Sarvamaa launched a petition to remove some of Budapest's membership rights due to the country's "erosion of the rule of law" and obstructive behavior in the face of EU consensus building.
The resolution, supported by 345 MEPs with 104 voting against and 29 abstaining, calls on the European Council to examine whether Hungary is committing a "serious and persistent breach" of the bloc's values under Article 7.2 of the EU treaty.
If 26 members, excluding the 27th member who is under consideration, agree that a breach is occurring, a qualified majority of the Council can suspend some of Hungary's membership rights, including voting rights, under Article 7.3 until all duties are fulfilled.
"The European Parliament has done its part; now it's up to Member States to follow through," Sarvamaa said on the social media platform X.
Earlier this week, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is considered close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said he would fight against any attempts to restrict Hungary's EU rights. Bratislava's opposition could prevent consensus on Article 7.2.
It seems we will need to wait for individual countries to try to pass this through. And there won't be a vote for the next step. Hence I will extend this market to the end of 2024; and if until then nothing happens I will close as NO.
Related questions
@Pazzaz here is how I understand the process now:
The parliament votes on the proposal if it did happen. Yesterday they did and they voted in favor and published a statement condemning Hungary.
next step is individual members also voting on it (all 26 members except Hungary) here Fico will not vote on it
the last step is the European Council voting on it (requires 4-fifths) - but this won't happen probably because of Fico
EU votes to trigger article 7 that might eventually lead suspending voting rights for Hungary:
