Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre told reporters that Denmark wants to speed up the Article 7 procedure against Hungary, reported Politico.
“We are still seeing a violation on fundamental values,” Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre told reporters in Aarhus, where the European Commission is visiting as Copenhagen takes over the rotating EU Council presidency. “That is why we will continue the Article 7 procedure and the hearing on Hungary,” she added. Marie Bjerre pointed out that speeding up the Article 7 procedure was necessary due to the accelerated EU accession of Ukraine.
The Minister also said that as Hungary continues to oppose Ukraine’s accelerated EU membership, Denmark is willing to
look at all political and practical solutions for us to move forward.”
If the EU countries decide to increase political pressure on Hungary under the Article 7 procedure, they could strip Hungary of its voting rights, meaning that the country would no longer be able to use its lobbying instruments with regard to enlargement, such as its veto against Ukrainian membership. However, according to Politico, diplomats warn that this would require the full support of Paris and Berlin to win over the rest of the bloc, which has not been the case so far.
Balázs Orbán, the Prime Minister’s political director, responded to the Danish European affairs Minister’s remarks on his social media page, recalling that more than two million Hungarians had expressed their opinion on Ukraine’s EU accession in the “Voks 2025 referendum” and that 95 percent of voters did not agree with Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the EU.
The politician pointed out that Ukraine is mentioned more than 40 times in the program of the Danish EU Council Presidency. In contrast, he listed the true priorities of the community of states: competitiveness, migration, and peace.
Democracy does not work in such a way that we punish someone if we disagree with them,”
wrote Balázs Orbán on Facebook.
#Hungary’s position on Ukraine’s EU accession is firm & backed by the Hungarian people. This is the position Hungary consistently upholds in Brussels, even as some push to suspend Hungary’s EU voting rights — but that’s not how democracy works. Instead of wasting energy on… https://t.co/AkDpe8DB2s
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) July 3, 2025
The Danish politician’s counterpart, European Affairs Minister János Bóka, went beyond the results of the referendum to point out the “unpredictable consequences” of EU membership for a country at war and made it clear that Hungary would not allow itself to be blackmailed. He wished the Danish Presidency every success and suggested that the two governments should try to “make life easier for each other, not more difficult.”
@eu2025dk wants to put “maximum pressure” on #Hungary to support Ukraine’s EU accession according to EU affairs minister @marie_bjerre.
The Hungarian position is clear:
➡️ Ukraine is at war – its EU accession would have devastating consequences for our whole community.
➡️…
— Bóka János (@JanosBoka_HU) July 3, 2025
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán responded on Thursday to criticism from Ukraine that Hungary had blocked Ukraine’s accession to the European Union in Brussels. “The Ukrainians must understand that Hungary does not support Ukraine’s membership of the European Union for fundamental and strategic reasons:
We do not want war and we do not want the European economy, including the Hungarian economy, to be destroyed,”
the Prime Minister wrote on Facebook.
This is not the first time that the so-called “nuclear option” under Article 7, or at least the threat of it, has been considered in connection with Hungary. With unpleasant regularity, Brussels and officials are using the rule of law to a country that does not want to surrender its sovereignty. It is unlikely that Hungary will give in, whether on illegal migration, the gender agenda, or Ukraine, especially since political pressure is not provided for in the EU treaties and the rule of law is only being misused as a pretext for eliminating the principle of unanimity.
Via Politico, hirado.hu; Featured photo: X/Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2025