Hungary's rightwing leader, Viktor Orban, has come under strong attack for his "national revolution" policies widely seen as a campaign to entrench his power and suppress opposition.
The Hungarian prime minister took the unusual step of travelling to Strasbourg to defend the new constitution he has rushed through, arguing before the European parliament that he was leading "a very exciting process of renewal" in Hungary.
Seeking to calm the storm of protest at policies many see as a dismantling of Hungarian democracy, Orban robustly defended his government while beating a tactical retreat and pledging to examine the complaints.
On Tuesday, the EU executive launched three suits against Hungary, arguing that Orban's actions and policies were in breach of European law. The European commission cited specific concerns about dilution of the Hungarian central bank's independence, influence on the country's judiciary by forcing judges in office before the Orban government took power to retire early, and data protection laws that critics say are a snooping charter for the government.
The commission chief, José Manuel Barroso, went further on Wednesday, telling the chamber that Orban had spent the past year ignoring Brussels' complaints about the new constitution and that the issue now went beyond technical legalisms. "There are concerns about the quality of democracy in Hungary," Barroso said.
A raft of international authorities from the US state department to the Organsiation for Security and Co-operation in Europe have voiced concern about Hungary's direction under Orban in recent weeks. Budapest has been given a month to respond to the commission's complaints before Brussels could resort to the European court of justice.
Separately, Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for the digital agenda, wrote to Orban on Wednesday protesting at his perceived campaign to cow the media. Over the past 18 months, since winning a two-thirds majority in parliament, Orban has rushed through hundreds of new laws and established a new constitution, while overseeing an economy on the brink of implosion.
The Hungarians are desperate to avert financial collapse by negotiating loans from the International Monetary Fund and the EU, but have been told there will be no talks until the central bank issue is resolved and other economic policies are changed.
Leading MEPs on Wednesday accused the commission of being too mild on Orban and called for more fundamental action. The leaders of the liberals and the Greens in the parliament, Guy Verhofstadt and Dany Cohn-Bendit, called for an investigation into whether Orban's constitution violated the EU's Lisbon treaty, an offence that could see Hungary stripped of its voting rights in the EU.
Cohn-Bendit accused Orban of striving to be Europe's equivalent of Hugo Chávez or Fidel Castro. Orban, who has a reputation for fiery, robust performances, was on his best behaviour, arguing that he had saved his country from the brink of collapse while also promising to take corrective action to fix the problems highlighted by Brussels.
"In 18 months we've done an incredible job," said Orban. "But the problems can easily be remedied."
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