Our EU currently lacks the pragmatism and determination of the Hungarian head of state

Based on the Emergency Law Viktor Orbán has undermined Hungary's democracy and rule of law by more than 100 decrees. He even explicitly let us in the EU know that he welcomed the Commission's initiation of the investigation procedure. In the meantime, the Hungarian Government has again reacted flexibly to the publication of the EU reconstruction plan by announcing that it intends to repeal the law, which has been criticised by the EU.

While Viktor Orbán has managed to introduce, exploit and almost repeal a highly controversial emergency law, we as the EU have only been able to watch the match of 'Orbán vs. democracy' from the stands.

It also seems that these events have not really moved any of the remaining heads of state. Apparently, they have been preoccupied with the consequences of Covid-19. In the meantime, an EU recovery fund is being discussed to compensate with hindsight for the lack of willingness to act. However, with the same ex-post approach it will hardly be possible to reverse the negative consequences of Orbán's regime.

There is neither decisiveness nor pragmatism on the part of our EU to revert the ongoing destruction of democracy in Hungary. Due to the inertia and passivity of our European institutions, we are not able to realise our European values.

We at Volt stand for proactive and pragmatic actions by our Union to prevent violations of European principles at all political levels. We want these principles to be respected and upheld in every Member State, in every region, in every city and in every community in Europe. Only on this basis can our Union become stronger for the future. We are Volt. We are the future of Europe.