HUNGARY NOT A PART OF THE EU?

• Hungary’s Political System:-

Hungary is a parliamentary republic with a head of government - the prime minister - who exercises executive power and a head of state - the president - whose primary responsibilities are representative. Hungary is divided into 19 counties, Budapest, and 23 cities with county-level authority.

Hungary has been a European Union (EU) Member Country since 1 May 2004. But, the question which now arises is, whether the EU will continue to remain a community of democracies if Hungary continues to remain an EU Member Country?

• Hungary & Poland:-

A few months ago, the majority of EU member states wanted to introduce new rules allowing the bloc (consisting of the French President, the German Chancellor, etc) to curb flows of funds to states that violate its main rule of law principles. But Hungary and Poland opposed the legislation and are vetoing €1.8tn of money desperately needed for Europe’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The official reason put forth by the governments of Poland and Hungary for their veto is the Rule of Law Mechanism, which would give the European Union a tool for sanctioning violations of stated democratic principles by cutting aid more quickly than is currently permitted.

In turn, officials from other countries accuse the European Union of aiming to punish them politically because they do not conform to the liberal ideals espoused by the EU. EU officials have also long conflicted with the governments of Poland and Hungary, accusing them of flouting the rule of law and anti-democratic tendencies.

• Hungary’s Illiberal Democracy:-

Hungary is at the vanguard of a clutch of EU countries that have gone out of their way to laud ideas that many in Brussels believe to be illiberal. This illiberal democracy was built using authoritarian tactics and a dialectic juxtaposition between ‘friends’ and ‘enemies’ in public discourse that justified policy changes as a defence of national interest.

Despite Hungary’s membership of the EU, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán’s discourse presents a fascinating duality: on the one hand, it centres on the idea that Hungary is a part of Europe, while on the other, despite profiting from its membership, it demands that the EU “a bureaucratic empire in Brussels” is to be fought in defence of the ‘self’.

• The Refugee Crisis:-

The opposition between the EU and Hungary was only strengthened with the refugee crisis. Orbán’s populist political discourse portrayed refugees as criminals and terrorists. This caused Hungary to be faced with multiple threats: cultural threats from non-European migrants; traditional values challenged by globalisation pressures; and the EU and the liberal world order challenging sovereignty, thus endangering the survival of the national community. Yet the EU, and more specifically the Commission, failed to address Orbán’s anti-democratic and anti-EU policies.

• Hungary’s New Law On LGBTQ+ Content:-

Hungary recently passed a bill banning LGBTQ+ content in schools. The law, which is reportedly intended to combat child sex abuse, prohibits sharing content deemed to be promoting homosexuality or sex reassignment with minors. The move prompted intense criticism from human rights groups and opposition parties. On the day it passed, crowds gathered in Budapest outside the parliament to protest the bill. Hungary’s new bill goes against the EU’s policies which protect LGBTQ+ rights under the European Union's (EU) treaties and law. The EU had responded sharply to Hungary’s new law, threatening to sue Budapest over violations of fundamental human rights if it did not back down immediately.

The question that remains is how long can an EU member continue to define itself against the EU? The EU’s response to this could be the answer for democracy not only in Hungary but could determine the future of the entire EU.

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