Hungary is no longer a full democracy, says European parliament

While the vote has no practical effect, it heightens pressure on EU authorities in Brussels not to disburse billions in EU cash to Hungary that is being withheld over concerns about corruption.

Hungary is battling to persuade the European Commission to release ¤4.64bn in Covid recovery funds, frozen for more than a year. Budapest is also trying to stave off a separate legal procedure that could lead to deductions from ¤24.3bn of cohesion funds, money for infrastructure and economic development.

Orbán has been in office since 2010 and held a two-thirds parliamentary majority for much of this time.

The vote comes almost exactly four years after MEPs voted to trigger disciplinary action against Hungary, a decision that ultimately lies in the hands of the 26 other EU member states, who have mostly shown little appetite for conflict with Budapest.

The report also noted the concerns of Hungarian judges over judicial independence in their country, after numerous changes by the Orbán government, including the appointment of supreme court judges outside normal procedures.