Why the EU May Be Ready to Rein In Hungary’s Orban

Three decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain, tensions are again threatening to divide Europe. Populist movements have roiled politics from Britain to Italy and, most recently, Sweden. But they’ve made their greatest gains in Hungary and Poland, where leaders are challenging what seemed like settled norms of democracy in the European Union. The EU is now fighting back. Last year, its executive recommended using Article 7, the so-called nuclear option, against Poland to force it to reverse perceived violations of the rule of law. On Wednesday, the European Parliament votes on whether to do the same against Hungary. They’re part of Europe’s battles against populists that will culminate in elections next year, where the direction of the EU will be decided.

Article 7 of the EU treaty is a mechanism for the EU to steer wayward members back toward the values on which the world’s largest trading bloc were founded, including respect for freedom, democracy and the rule of law. If a member state is seen as being at risk of breaching these values, EU institutions, including the European Parliament, can recommend triggering a process that can ultimately end with the suspension of a government’s voting rights.