Christian Democrat, Social Democrat, Liberal and Green MEPs have made an urgent appeal to the European Commission to completely stop all money from Brussels for Orban's Hungary.
In an urgent letter, jointly signed by representatives of several parliamentary groups in the European Parliament, made available to ARD-Studio in Brussels, the MEPs demand that all EU funds for Hungary be permanently withdrawn. Previous sanctions, they declare, have not brought results.
This is a very clear call from the European Parliament to the European Commission to increase pressure on Hungary. Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens MEPs want to finally turn off the tap on Viktor Orbán's government, says Moritz Körner, who comes from the German Liberal Party (FDP).
"Anyone who is not at all interested in respecting EU values does not deserve a single euro from the EU budget," he said.
Green MEP Daniel Freund says this is about protecting the financial interests of the EU and therefore of European taxpayers, in accordance with the legal regulations in force.
"Attacks week after week"
Freund initiated the letter and is considered one of the most ardent supporters of the rule of law in the European Parliament. Due to widespread corruption in Hungary and the lack of an independent judiciary, billions of euros in funds that were supposed to be transferred to Hungary from Brussels have been frozen in recent years.
"However, we see that in the two and a half years since the sanctions were imposed, the situation on the ground has not improved," says Freund. On the contrary, as he says, "new attacks on the independent judiciary, civil society, free media and freedom of expression are being recorded week after week. And that is why we are now sending a very, very clear message: this must end."
Strict measures against minorities and NGOs
Encouraged by the support of US President Trump, Orban is taking increasingly strict actions against minorities and non-governmental organizations. Thus, in mid-March, his government passed a law that drastically limits freedom of assembly and bans the "Pride Parade" planned for June, in which participants, among other things, commit to respecting the rights of homosexual, bisexual and transgender people.
A few days ago – on May 13 – the Hungarian government further tightened measures against non-governmental organizations, which it considers a threat to the country's sovereignty. This has enabled Viktor Orbán's government to blacklist non-governmental organizations, sanction them if necessary, and limit their funding./ DW (A2 Televizion)
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