Hungary, One Step Closer to Eliminating Democracy
By: Emily Seeling
Hungry has been under scrutiny from the European Union (EU) for dismantling democratic institutions and the rule of laws since the Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, took office.[1] Orban’s government has taken greater control of the Academy of Sciences granting the government greater influence on all research and funding of the academy.[2] In addition, the government combined over 500 media outlets into one media source, giving the government full influence and control over the media.[3] Orban’s government has attempted to control the judicial system on two occasions, but have failed because of criticism and fight back from the EU.[4] Hungry has been on a path towards becoming an authoritarian country and the COVID-19 pandemic has helped soothe the way.
On March 30, 2020, a bill was passed by Hungary’s parliament granting the Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government extensive and unlimited powers to handle the coronavirus pandemic for an indefinite period of time.[5] Orban’s government has the power to suspend any current laws as well as the power to implement new laws by decree.[6] The legislation allows the government to avoid the parliamentary process for implementing new law eliminating any sort of democracy that remained within the country. Although, the new law is meant to cover only new implementations and precautions related to the current pandemic.
The law excludes any sort of elections from occurring during the crisis, keeping Orban’s government in place with full power. The legislation increased the current government’s control of the media by creating new criminal offenses for publishing false or misleading facts attached to a prison sentence of five years.[7] In addition, it added a prison sentence of up to eight years for breaking quarantine orders.[8] This is just the start of Orban’s control over the country and the only way to lift the state of emergency is with a two-thirds majority, in which the ruling party holds.[9] All democratic checks and balances have been eliminated by the new legislation.
Two questions that arise from the coronavirus law are why has the EU done nothing and what will the EU do in regards to Hungary’s new law that “risks undermining the rule of law, democracy, and fundamental rights[?]”[10] To the former, the EU may be hesitant to do anything because of politics. The European People’s Party (EPP) is concerned with the risk of reducing the overall influence of the group by isolating or punishing Orban because of his benefit to the EPP when it comes to voting within the EU.[11] Orban has great influence in the political realm and could result in the EPP losing votes for policies and laws in favor of the party.
Another aspect to consider is the EU cannot unilaterally expel a member state.[12] The EU can go after Hungry under Article 7 of the Treaty of Lisbon if a member state is violating the EU’s fundamental values such as “freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law.”[13] The complication arises because all the EU member states have to agree in order to use Article 7 as a means to remove Hungry from the EU.[14] Furthermore, the EU has previously brought Article 7 proceeding against Hungry with no prevail.[15] The chance of obtaining complete unanimity of the EU makes the route of an Article 7 proceeding unrealistic.
As for the latter, one option the EU should consider is taking Hungry to court. The matter could be taken to the European Court of Justice to handle the legal issue and result in daily monetary fines paid by Hungry.[16] However, the concern with this measure is that taking a country to the highest court takes time and the action may be too late to make a change to the authoritarian government implemented.[17]
Another potential option for the EU to handle the Hungry situation is to reduce Hungary’s funding for its next long-term budget.[18] One point to note is that the EU does not have the power to unilaterally withhold funding from a country.[19] The EU heads of state and the European Parliament would have to support the reduction in funding.[20] This route could maintain hesitation form other member states because of fear that in the future, funds could be withheld from them.[21] There is a high chance that this route will not be successful because the member states will be reluctant to implement such measures.
The new coronavirus law providing Orban’s government with unlimited powers and control may not result in the complete end of democracy in Hungary. The new law can still maintain its purpose of protecting the country as a whole during unprecedented time. The concern arises only if the Orban’s government abuses the powers granted to battle the pandemic. The Hungarian government should remain under international attention and monitored by the EU during the pandemic. The entire world is under scrutiny on how to combat the pandemic in a way to maintain freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
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[1] Hungary Events of 2019 – Part of the EU Chapter, Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/hungary, (last visited Apr. 16, 2020).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Philippe Dam, Hungary’s Authoritarian Takeover Puts European Union at Risk, Human Rights Watch (Apr. 1, 2020 12:01 AM), https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/01/hungarys-authoritarian-takeover-puts-european-union-risk.
[6] Id.
[7] Lydia Gall, Hungary’s Orban Uses Pandemic to Seize Unlimited Power, Human Rights Watch (Mar. 23, 2020, 9:01AM), https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/23/hungarys-orban-uses-pandemic-seize-unlimited-power.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Yasmeen Serhan, The EU Watches as Hungary Kills Democracy, Atlantic (Apr. 2, 2020), https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/04/europe-hungary-viktor-orban-coronavirus-covid19-democracy/609313/
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Id.