Critics say Hungary rule of law crisis is deepening
The resignation of the president, the rapid appointment of a successor, searches and arrests involving political opponents and the use of retroactive legislation have prompted accusations that legal institutions are being dismantled in Hungary. Critics claim that the European Commission and mainstream media have remained largely silent about alleged abuses under elected Prime Minister Péter Magyar.
They argue that Brussels would have reacted far more forcefully had similar measures been taken by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Eurosceptic politicians across Europe have therefore accused the European Union of applying its rule-of-law standards selectively, depending on whether a national government enjoys political support from EU institutions.
Tom Van Grieken, leader of the Belgian party Vlaams Belang, described recent events as an extraordinary attack on the rule of law. He said the government had acted as though the presidency were simply another political post that could be filled at will.
“In just a few days, Hungary has witnessed a staggering assault on the rule of law. First, following the unconstitutional removal of the serving president of the Republic, the government rushed to appoint a successor within hours, acting as though the presidency were no more than a political position that could be occupied at its discretion,” Van Grieken claimed.
Opposition searches and resignations fuel concern
Van Grieken noted that even the government’s own candidate had refused to accept the presidency. He quoted President Tamás Sulyok as saying that “the democratic rule of law which emerged from the legacy of 1956 during Hungary’s democratic transition has ceased to exist”.
Particular concern has focused on action taken against the opposition. Prosecutors seized Fidesz servers containing personal information and correspondence, a step Van Grieken described not as a neutral law-enforcement measure but as a politically motivated witch hunt intended to intimidate opponents of the government.
He also pointed to the resignation of Chief Prosecutor Gábor Bálint Nagy, arguing that it had further intensified the institutional crisis. In his resignation statement, Nagy warned that prosecutors must not become tools in political conflicts or an arena for everyday party interests and struggles for power.
“This is how democratic safeguards are destroyed: piece by piece, institution by institution,” Van Grieken said.
Matteo Salvini also voiced concern, warning that the developments created a dangerous precedent.
“What is happening in Hungary is serious. If democracy is used to strike at the opposition, it is no longer democracy,” he said. “And it is striking how deafening the silence is from Brussels and from those who for years spoke about the ‘rule of law’.”
EU response described as evidence of double standards
Critics say the response from EU officials has gone beyond silence, with politicians supported by Brussels continuing to be presented as successful reformers despite allegations of repression. Fidesz Vice-President Kinga Gál published a video in which a representative of Ireland’s EU presidency was questioned about the actions attributed to Péter Magyar’s government.
MEP Lezheri, from the French Patriots for Europe party and a rapporteur for the group in the legal affairs committee, asked an Irish minister about the removal of the Hungarian president and the use of retroactive legislation. The minister replied that the rule of law in Hungary had “improved significantly following the change of government”.
Critics argued that the answer appeared detached from reports of searches targeting the opposition, the prosecutor’s resignation and the constitutional dispute. They described it as further evidence that the European Union was overlooking actions that would previously have drawn strong condemnation.
Kinga Gál accused the Magyar government of establishing an authoritarian system. “With the adoption of the 17th amendment to the Fundamental Law, Hungary ceased to be a democratic state governed by the rule of law. The age of arbitrary rule has returned,” she said. “The president of the Republic and the president of the Constitutional Court were removed from office, thereby abolishing the separation of powers, eliminating the constitutional system of checks and balances and destroying the rule of law.”
European right condemns Brussels silence
Marine Le Pen also criticised the lack of a response from the European Commission, arguing that alleged violations were multiplying with the approval of politicians who regarded themselves as belonging to the “camp of good”.
“Democracy has no camp. It simply has rules, which Hungary’s new prime minister, under the protection of the European Commission, is trampling upon,” Le Pen said.
The accusations from the Hungarian opposition and right-wing European politicians are becoming increasingly vocal, while Brussels has yet to issue the kind of public condemnation critics expected. They argue that this silence is particularly striking given the European Commission’s previous readiness to lecture member states over alleged departures from democratic standards.
The Hungary rule of law crisis is therefore becoming a test of whether EU institutions apply the same principles to politically friendly and hostile governments. Critics warn that continued silence could further weaken trust in the neutrality of European legal institutions and reinforce claims that political expediency now takes precedence over democratic safeguards.
