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EU Considers Stripping Hungary of Voting Rights Over Threats to Core Values

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Amira_barkhush
Amira Barkhush
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EU Considers Stripping Hungary of Voting Rights Over Threats to Core Values
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, on May 12, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

At the upcoming General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on May 27, EU member states will discuss the potential application of Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union against Hungary. The measure could strip the country of its voting rights within the bloc if it is deemed at risk of seriously breaching core EU values.

“Ministers will hold the eighth hearing of Hungary as part of the Article 7 procedure triggered by the European Parliament’s reasoned proposal of September 2018,” the Council wrote in a statement on May 22.

The Council is expected to deliberate on whether Hungary’s actions warrant invoking Article 7, a mechanism designed to respond to systemic threats to the EU’s foundational principles.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly used his veto power to block EU financial aid packages for Ukraine and has attempted to stall the country’s accession talks with the bloc.

On April 22, it was reported that Orbán had publicly voted against Ukraine’s accession to the European Union as part of a nationwide consultation launched by his government.

Despite this, on May 21, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is fully prepared to open the first negotiation clusters on European Union membership.

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