European Union member states are set to meet on October 21, 2025, to discuss Hungary’s growing erosion of the rule of law. Human Rights Watch urges the EU Council to vote on whether Hungary poses a serious breach of EU treaty values, emphasizing the need for decisive action against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government. The Hungarian administration has intensified attacks on judicial independence, free expression, assembly, and minority rights, prompting calls for accountability through the EU’s Article 7 procedure, which addresses serious breaches of EU treaties and fundamental values.
In recent months, Hungary’s parliament has passed constitutional amendments restricting freedom of assembly, banning public LGBT events including Budapest Pride, and allowing the revocation of dual citizenship on vague national security grounds. The government has escalated attacks on LGBT rights, including deploying facial recognition against Pride participants and opening criminal investigations against local officials who supported these events. Proposed legislation, such as the “transparency of public life” bill, would grant the government-appointed Sovereignty Protection Office sweeping powers to target civil society and media organizations labeled “foreign-influenced,” although its introduction has been temporarily paused due to domestic and EU criticism.
Independent institutions and media in Hungary face persistent political pressure. Judges have been dismissed for criticizing judicial processes, and journalists and media owners are harassed. The Sovereignty Protection Office has targeted 500 EU-funded groups, including universities and research institutes, alleging, without evidence, that they form a “foreign-financed political pressure network.” Concurrently, the Court of Justice of the European Union is expediting infringement cases related to Hungary’s anti-LGBT legislation and the creation of the Sovereignty Protection Office. Eighteen billion Euros in EU funds remain frozen due to rule of law concerns, and some European Parliament members have called for a suspension of all funding to Hungary.
Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in June has also raised legal concerns, as it violates EU commitments to the ICC treaty. ICC judges found Hungary in breach of obligations when it allowed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit without arrest, despite ICC warrants. Human Rights Watch urges EU member states to examine this withdrawal within the Article 7 framework. Despite repeated denunciations from EU countries, including a joint statement by 20 member states rejecting Hungary’s ban on LGBT events, the EU Council has yet to take concrete action.
A vote under the preventive stage of Article 7 could determine the risk of a serious breach of EU values and issue clear, time-bound recommendations to Hungary. Should these recommendations be ignored, the EU could advance to sanctions to protect treaty integrity. Human Rights Watch highlights that while infringement proceedings and financial restrictions are important, Article 7 remains the only comprehensive treaty instrument to address systemic rule of law erosion in a member state and safeguard fundamental EU principles.
