EU grapples with Hungary’s democratic backslide; Orban’s illiberal agenda – Marc Champion

In a decade-long pursuit of an "illiberal state," Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is challenging the foundations of democracy, aligning with autocracies, and aiming to reshape the EU in his image. Despite recent setbacks, Orban persists in undermining democratic values, with proposed legislation and manipulative tactics. The EU must resist financial concessions, demanding adherence to its principles. As Hungary faces scrutiny, the struggle highlights the urgent need to safeguard democracy within the bloc against illiberal influences.

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Orban's Putin-Lite Act Gets a Dutch Echo: Marc Champion

By Marc Champion

It's been almost a decade now since Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban boldly declared his goal of turning the country into an "illiberal state" founded on "national" values and modeled on countries such as China, India, Russia and Turkey. He's been true to his word. Hungary is no longer a democracy in a meaningful sense, the sole European Union member that the US nonprofit Freedom House rates as only partly free.

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