Viktor Orbán

The decision to uphold the suspension of Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's Fidesz Party from the EPP political group was made behind closed doors yesterday.

Protecting Europe from its autocratic side will be one of the new Commission’s main challenges. During the last decade, we’ve seen multiple examples of EU leaders undermining the checks and balances to preserve human rights and the rule of law against executive overreach.

NGO Unhack Democracy Europe heard reports of vote buying, intimidation, forged logs, and voters being brought in from neighbouring countries during Hungary's 2018 election

The rule of law, as opposed to what the minister Judit Varga writes, is not one of the current “buzzwords” but a constitutional foundation for our civilization, the operation of the state and our daily life.

Normally, we do not respond to statements from ministers or other representatives of the Orbán regime. Exceptionally, in this instance, we thought it important to counter the misinformation Minister Judit Varga is deliberately spreading.

Over the past nine years, public affairs have gradually become the private affairs of people with power, and every relevant law, regulation and practice echoes this shift in perspective. Government officials and politicians treat journalists asking them questions as if we were invading their privacy

The Hungarian government appears not to accept that the rule of law can be a criterion to judge member states. Interestingly, until very recently, they always claimed that Hungary fully adhered to those principles, and that the rule of law worked perfectly in the country.

For fear of sounding politically incorrect, many are reluctant to ask even the most basic questions about rule of law and its protection in the EU. So to help out, here are a few facts about the rule of law that you always wanted to know but never dared ask.

The two leaders, who share a common disdain for western liberal values, have maintained and enhanced their special relationship over the years, even as the EU implemented sanctions against Moscow over Russia's annexation of Crimea.

A wave of populist electoral triumphs has been presented by those who have surfed it into power as reflecting a turn in history’s tide. They should know their history better, argues Robin Wilson.

The flouting of European values that led to the Fidesz’s suspension from the European People’s Party in March has not changed. What has changed is that the outcome of the elections has made Fidesz realize that it needs to stay in the EPP.