NUNZIUM

Since Orban's ruling Fidesz party came to power in 2010 the conflict between the EU and Hungary - one of the main block’s beneficiaries - has steadily grown. In 2018 a resolution of the EU Parliament declared a violation of Article 7 of the EU Treaty: breaching of EU's founding values. The report raised concerns about a long list of fundamental rights considered to be under threat, including the electoral system, the independence of judiciary, privacy, freedom of expression, media pluralism, academic freedom, LGBT rights and the protection of minorities and asylum seekers. On September 15 Members of the European Parliament further voted to condemn the “deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government” to undermine European values - 433 votes for, 123 against, and 28 abstentions. The situation has deteriorated such that Hungary has become an “electoral autocracy”. The EU Council can now decide to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting, representation, and block financial support now amounting to billions in the context of the ongoing recovery plan. Financial penalties would be imposed due to alleged fraudulent behavior and rule of law violations. All this in a moment where Hungary's economy is experiencing its highest inflation in nearly 25 years, while its currency recently reached record lows against the euro and the dollar. “I find it funny," Orbán said. “The only reason we don’t laugh at it is because we’re bored of it. It's a boring joke. It’s the third or fourth time they’ve passed a resolution condemning Hungary in the European Parliament. At first, we thought it was significant. But now we see it as a joke." It is with these premises that on September 18 the European Commission called for an estimated € 7.5 Billions in European funds to be withheld from Hungary over corruption concerns. The Council now has one month to decide whether to go ahead with the Commission's recommendation - in which case Commission could freeze funds to Budapest from 19 November at the earliest. Yet, the Commission left the door open for remedial measures by 19 November. To date, additionally, Hungary is the only member state not to have had its plan to receive some of the €800 billion of post-COVID recovery funds approved by Brussels. The Commission has asked for reforms in exchange for green-lighting the plan. Overall, it looks like a lot of hard work for president Orbán, on top of what has been defined a “boring joke”.