On September 15, 2022, the European Parliament took a decision that the Victor Orban Government in Hungary could not be accepted anymore as a democracy and that the European values in the country were under threat, and defined Hungary as an “elective autocracy.”[1] On September 18, 2022, the European Commission proposed to suspend the funding of approximately 7.5 billion euros, which was committed within the scope of the harmonization policy, in order to protect the financial interests of the European Union (EU) against violations of the rule of law on the grounds of corruption in Hungary.[2] The functioning of the electoral system in Hungary, the independence of the judiciary, corruption and conflicts of interest, protection of data privacy, freedom of expression, equal treatment including LGBT rights, rights of persons belonging to minorities, including Romanians and Jews, in making these decisions by the EU institutions It has been stated that the problems experienced in areas such as the fundamental rights of immigrants and asylum seekers are effective.[3]
The beginning of these problems in Hungary goes back to the Hungarian Constitution, which was ratified in 2011 and entered into force in 2012, although it is defined as an attack on democracy and human rights by the EU. With this constitution, the period of controversial constitutions began in bilateral relations.
In the fight against the migrant crisis caused by the Syrian Civil War, Hungary rejected the EU’s immigration policy and created its own plan and enacted it. The Hungarian Parliament took anti-refugee measures with the constitutional amendment approved in 2018, prohibiting the resettlement of foreigners and the admission of asylum seekers in Hungary.[4] In addition, thanks to the wires built on the southern border of Hungary, the entry of refugees into the country was prevented. Thus, the issue of immigration has been one of the main reasons for the tension in bilateral relations.
Another issue is the LGBT rights, which the EU considers as individual rights within the framework of fundamental human rights and equality principles. In Hungary, in 2020, in addition to gender reassignment, same-sex marriage is prohibited; in 2021, content that promotes homosexuality and gender reassignment for people under the age of 18 is prohibited. Decisions are criticized by the EU as discrimination and racism. Although Hungary is frequently criticized for these and similar decisions that contradict the EU norms, it has equal rights with the other 26 members in the functioning of the EU decision mechanism. It was clearly seen in the Russia-Ukraine War that started on February 24, 2022 that this situation had serious consequences for the EU.
The Orban administration, which condemned the war and expressed its support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, also argued that the EU should not be on the side of any side in this war. As a matter of fact, Hungary has adopted a different stance from the other members by rejecting the EU’s initiatives on the armament of Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia. The EU, which needs a strong unity in the Russia-Ukraine War, caused many political and economic crises in Europe, with the two decisions taken in September 2022, helped Hungary to act according to the rule of law and to adopt the principles of democracy more, and to solve economic problems. It aimed at influencing the country’s politics in favor of the EU by using the carrot-stick strategy in Hungary. As a matter of fact, Orban announced that an anti-corruption commission would be established in this context.
So, will these decisions change the direction of the momentum in the Hungarian-EU relations? It is very difficult to answer “yes” to this question. As can be clearly understood from the developments in recent years, there are differences in the perspectives of the EU and Hungary. Are these differences just due to Orban’s policies; or, is the main problem based on a reason beyond what is seen? it seems that the main issue may be an identity problem based on ethnicity.
As it is known, the ancestors of the Hungarians, whose origins go back to Asia, are considered to be the Huns. Today, in Hungary, which wants to preserve this identity, the Turkish-Hun Peoples’ Congress is held every two years with the support of the governments of Hungary and the Turkish states in order to unite the Turkish ancestry.[5] With Hungary’s Turkish World. In other words, another example showing its desire to strengthen its ties with Asia is the Organization of Turkish States. The influence of historical and cultural ties in Hungary’s participation in the Organization of Turkic States with the status of an observer member is undeniable.
Another factor affecting the Hungarian identity is that Hungary was a communist state under the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Therefore, the influence of Turks, East/Asian identity and the communist regime in shaping the Hungarian identity is quite high. For this reason, there is a divergence in values between Hungary and the West. Hungarians see some of the West’s policies as the beginning of an intervention or weakness towards their identity, values and sovereignty.
As it will be remembered, Orban defended his decisions regarding the migrant crisis as an attempt to prevent an interference with the Hungarian national identity.[6] Again, with the decision enacted in Hungary regarding LGBT individuals, other Western leaders argued that the EU is not only an economic union, but also a union of values and freedoms; LGBT rights have been defined as an ideology by Orban and his supporters. Orban describes this ideology as an attempt that is incompatible with Hungarian values and will disrupt the family structure of Hungary.
Hungarians, who have a strong sense of being a national society, showed that they adopted the same view as Orban by adopting the anti-LGBT law in the referendum. It is understood from the similar developments that; some EU values do not coincide with the values of Hungarian society in many areas that can be increased, such as social life, public sphere, the functioning of the government and the acceptability of norms.
For all these reasons, it is possible that Orban, who represents the Hungarian society, will be criticized by the EU in the future on the grounds that he does not comply with human rights, freedom of the press, the rule of law and democratic principles. Because, as mentioned, the Hungarian nation also contains elements of the Eastern identity. Eastern and Western identities were formed by going through completely different historical processes. For this reason, the EU values look like a dress that disturbs the Hungarian people, and Hungarian society often wants to take off this dress and wear an empowered dress embellished with the values they adopt. Describing himself as a freedom fighter against the Western worldview, Orban openly expressed his demands for change by stating that after winning the 2014 elections, they would build an illiberal democracy of its own.
As a result, in Hungary, where the EU opened its doors with the great enlargement in 2004, many reforms were made on the occasion of the EU membership process and Hungary’s institutions were tried to be revised within the framework of EU values. However, being Westernized and living like a Westerner are not the same thing. As a matter of fact, today Hungary acts with a management approach that is within the EU but far from the EU. The policies of the Orban Government are effective in the criticism of Hungary by the EU, of which it is a member, on the grounds that it violates basic EU norms such as the rule of law, democracy and equality. However, beyond these policies, it can be said that there is an identity problem based on ethnicity between Hungary and the EU, and therefore, an identity and values conflict have an impact on the current developments.
[1] “Hungary Can No Longer Be Considered A Full Democracy”, European Parliament, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220909IPR40137/meps-hungary-can-no-longer-be-considered-a-full-democracy, (Date of Accession: 22.09.2022).
[2] “Remarks by Commissioner Hahn at the College Read-out on the Protection of the EU Budget in Hungary”, European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_22_5583, (Date of Accession: 22.09.2022).
[3] “Rule of Law in Hungary: Parliament Calls on the EU to Act”, European Parliament, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20180906IPR12104/rule-of-law-in-hungary-parliament-calls-on-the-eu-to-act, (Date of Accession: 22.09.2022).
[4] “Macaristan’da Mülteci Karşıtı Önlemler Anayasaya Girdi: Yardım Edene Ceza”, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-44542375, (Date of Accession: 22.09.2022).
[5] “Hun-Türk Halkları” Kurultayı Macaristan’da düzenlendi”, Türk Devletleri Teşkilatı”, https://www.turkkon.org/tr/haberler/hun-turk-halklari-kurultayi-macaristanda-duzenlendi_2595, (Date of Accession: 22.09.2022).
[6] “Macaristan’da Mülteci Karşıtı Önlemler Anayasaya Girdi: Yardım Edene Ceza”, BBC, https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-44542375, (Date of Accession: 22.09.2022).
