The EPP Group advocates for the Hungarian people to have the opportunity to freely elect their next government—without intimidation, repression, or infringement on their fundamental rights. During today’s plenary debate, EPP Group Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from Hungary and across Europe condemned Prime Minister Viktor Orbán‘s administration for undermining the essential democratic freedoms that all EU citizens should enjoy.
“The actions of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reveal the cracks in an authoritarian facade that grows more brittle by the day. These laws are not about protecting children or sovereignty—they are about silencing critics and controlling public space,” stated Zoltán Tarr, MEP and head of the Hungarian delegation within the EPP Group, as well as a notable figure in the Hungarian opposition to the Orbán regime.
“The Orbán government now has the legal tools to shut down any demonstration it dislikes—under the vague pretext of ‘protecting children’. This is not child protection. It is political censorship.”
Tarr further asserted that recent actions, including the prohibition of Pride events and the extensive powers granted for facial recognition surveillance, are not isolated incidents targeting specific minorities. Instead, they signify a broader assault on freedom of assembly and expression that endangers all Hungarians.
“Orbán’s tactics are simple: stoke division, suppress dissent, and distract from his government’s economic failure and corruption,” Tarr adds. “The Hungarian people deserve the right to freely choose their own government — without intimidation, without repression, and with full access to their rights.”
Michał Wawrykiewicz, MEP and a recognised advocate for judicial independence in Poland, warned, “In Poland, we’ve seen what happens when governments rewrite the rules to weaken the opposition and restrict public debate.”
“Orbán claims to defend Hungarian sovereignty, yet his government imports surveillance technology from Beijing and recycles propaganda lifted directly from the Kremlin playbook,” he highlighted.
“Let’s be clear: you cannot defend patriotic values by adopting Moscow’s tactics or Chinese tools of control. True sovereignty and patriotism begin with free citizens and strong democratic institutions,” Wawrykiewicz stressed.
