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Denmark’s EU Presidency Targets Hungary over Rule of Law as Rapes and Robberies Surge at Home

Hungary Today 2025.07.14.

Among its priorities for the EU presidency, Denmark promised to continue the Article 7 procedure against Hungary — and does not rule out suspending Budapest’s voting rights — citing persistent concerns over alleged rule of law breaches. At the same time, Denmark is itself struggling with far higher rates of violent crime, including robberies and rapes, than those reported in Hungary.

According to Politico, during a visit to the European Commission under the Danish presidency, Marie Bjerre, Danish Minister responsible for EU affairs emphasized: “We are still seeing a violation on fundamental values, that is why we will continue the Article 7 procedure and the hearing on Hungary.”

“Danish European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre says Copenhagen will ramp up Article 7 proceedings against Budapest” https://t.co/1SzodpYb9n

— Transatlantic Policy Center (@AU_EuropeCenter) July 7, 2025

The Danish Minister added that the EU should also consider restricting access to EU funds for countries with rule of law concerns.

Bjerre also sharply criticized Hungary’s obstruction of Ukraine’s accession to the EU and indicated that Denmark was “willing to look at all political and practical solutions” to advance the enlargement process.

Meanwhile, Denmark itself faces a number of serious domestic rule of law and security challenges. According to Eurostat, the robbery rate in Denmark is five times higher than in Hungary, which is among the countries with the lowest number of reported robberies in Europe. Additionally, statistics show that in 2022, there were 2,831 recorded cases of rape in Denmark, compared to 587 in Hungary, even though the country’s population is significantly larger than Denmark’s.

Další ze série důkazů potvrzujících, že čím méně migrantů a čím více homogenní společnost, tím méně nebezpečí. Važme si toho. pic.twitter.com/IKigZ4i3NW

— Zdeněk Hraba (@hraba_z) July 13, 2025

Balázs Orbán, the Political Director of Viktor Orbán, reacted sharply to the statements from Denmark. According to him, the Danish Minister for European Affairs “cannot tolerate” that Hungary is blocking Ukraine’s EU accession. Balázs Orbán noted that “more than 2 million Hungarians have expressed their opinion on Ukraine’s accession, with 95% rejecting it. We represent them.”

Fact

Article 7 of the EU Treaty allows Member States to suspend a member state’s voting rights in the event of serious violations. The procedure has not yet led to such serious sanctions, although Brussels says Hungary has repeatedly violated EU law. If the Member States continue with the Article 7 procedure, they could strip Hungary of its voting rights on issues such as EU enlargement, thereby preventing Budapest from vetoing Ukraine’s accession.

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Via Politico, Eurostat, World Population Review; Featured photo: Pixabay