Home Politics What is Article 7, the EU’s ‘nuclear option’?

The European Parliament votes Wednesday on whether to trigger the EU’s so-called Article 7 procedure against Hungary, used when a country is considered at risk of breaching the bloc’s core values.

The procedure is sometimes called the EU’s “nuclear option” as it provides for the most serious political sanction the bloc can impose on a member country — the suspension of the right to vote on EU decisions.

The European Commission triggered the process for the first time last December — against Poland, over concerns about government influence on the judiciary. Now Parliament will vote on taking the same step against Viktor Orbán’s government over concerns about freedom of expression, academic freedom, the rights of minorities and refugees and other issues.

Here’s how the process breaks down:


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