Slovak Opposition Leader Magyar Meets EU Parliament Chief, Agrees on Ending Rule-of-Law Proceedings Against Hungary

Péter Magyar, leader of the Slovak-Hungarian opposition movement and member of the European Parliament, met with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and agreed that the long-running rule-of-law proceedings against Hungary should be brought to a close. The proceedings, known as the Article 7 procedure, were launched in September 2018 over concerns that Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had undermined democratic institutions, judicial independence, and fundamental rights — violations the European Union considers breaches of its founding principles. Article 7 of the EU Treaty is the bloc's most serious mechanism for addressing member states that systematically deviate from the rule of law, and can theoretically result in the suspension of a country's voting rights within the EU. However, the procedure has been widely criticized as ineffective, as it requires unanimous agreement among member states to impose sanctions — a threshold that has proven politically impossible to reach. Magyar, whose Tisza party has emerged as the main opposition force to Orbán's Fidesz government in Hungary, has positioned himself as a pro-European reformer seeking to steer Hungary back toward closer alignment with EU norms. His agreement with Metsola signals a possible shift in European Parliament strategy regarding Hungary's standing within the bloc.