III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 565 

Condemning democratic backsliding in Hungary. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2024 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning democratic backsliding in Hungary. 

Whereas Hungary transitioned to a democracy in 1989 following decades of ruthless repression by the Soviet 

Union, including the brutal suppression of the Revolution 

of 1956 in which thousands of Hungarians were killed; 

Whereas Hungary formally joined the North Atlantic Treaty 

Organization (NATO) on March 12, 1999, signaling a 

commitment to transatlantic unity and democratic resilience; 

Whereas, as part of obligations to transatlantic security as a 

member of NATO, Hungary has sent troops to Kosovo 

and Afghanistan, contributes to the Baltic air policing 

mission, and leads Operation Althea, the European 

Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR); 


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Whereas Viktor Orban first assumed the office of the Prime 

Minister of Hungary in 1998 and, while in office, restricted the number of plenary sessions held by the Parliament of Hungary, limiting oversight of the government; 

Whereas the Government of Hungary has used migration, the 

COVID–19 crisis, and the war against Ukraine by the 

Russian Federation to justify ongoing ‘‘states of emergency’’ in Hungary that allow the Orban cabinet to rule 

by decree, bypassing the parliament; 

Whereas, following the tenure of Orban as Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2010, Orban again assumed the 

office of the Prime Minister of Hungary following the 

parliamentary elections success of the Fidesz party; 

Whereas the Orban government passed a new constitution for 

Hungary in 2011, which limited the power of independent institutions in Hungary, including the Constitutional Court and the judicial system, reduced the number 

of seats in the National Assemble of Hungary by almost 

half, restricted civil liberties, and instituted a politicized 

media regulation authority with power to shut down outlets critical of the government; 

Whereas, in 2019, Hungary became the first European Union 

member state to be downgraded to ‘‘partly free’’ by Freedom House, an internationally recognized non-profit organization, in 2022, the European Parliament ruled that 

Hungary was no longer considered a full democracy, and 

in 2023, Transparency International, an internationally 

recognized non-profit organization, ranked Hungary as 

the most corrupt European Union member state; 


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Whereas, in December 2023, Hungary instituted a law purportedly designed to protect the sovereignty of Hungary, 

but which actually serves as a tool to silence Hungarians 

who disagree with the current ruling party and has led 

to infringement proceedings by the European Union; 

Whereas the European Union took the unprecedented step of 

withholding more than $30,000,000,000 in funds due to 

concerns about rule of law and corruption in Hungary, 

and continues to withhold more than $20,000,000,000 of 

such funds; 

Whereas Hungary has sought to strengthen its relationship 

with the People’s Republic of China, including by participating in the 16+1 format and the Belt and Road Initiative, the first European country to do so; 

Whereas, following the illegal annexation of Crimea by the 

Russian Federation in 2014, Prime Minister Orban and 

the Government of Hungary has resisted and diluted European Union sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation; 

Whereas, in response to the further invasion of Ukraine by 

the Russian Federation in 2022, Hungary announced 

support for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union, strengthening European and transatlantic 

unity at a critical juncture; 

Whereas, since February 24, 2022, more than 800,000 refugees have fled Ukraine through Hungary in response to 

the unprovoked and illegal war in Ukraine initiated by 

Vladimir Putin, and more than 35,000 Ukrainians have 

sought to stay in Hungary; 


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Whereas the Government of Hungary has worked with local 

partners, including non-governmental organizations, to 

provide essential services to Ukrainian refugees; 

Whereas Hungary has blocked the transfer of weapons from 

partners and allies to Ukraine through the border that 

Hungary shares with Ukraine, moved to delay financial 

assistance from the European Union to Ukraine, and 

carved out exceptions on European Union sanctions 

against the Russian Federation to continue to allow Russian oil and gas to flow to Hungary; 

Whereas Prime Minister Orban has sought a closer relationship with Vladimir Putin, including by meeting Putin in 

Beijing in 2023, the first leader of a European Union 

member state to meet with Putin since April 2022 and 

the only leader of a NATO member state to meet with 

Putin since the Russian Federation launched a full-scale 

invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022; 

Whereas, in response to the war in Ukraine, NATO is the 

strongest and most unified it has ever been, as exemplified through the enlargement of NATO to include Finland as the 31st member state; 

Whereas, despite approving the accession of Finland to 

NATO on March 27, 2023, Hungary has delayed joining 

all other NATO member states in approving the accession of Sweden to NATO, failing to fulfill a commitment 

not to be last to approve such accession and jeopardizing 

transatlantic security at a key moment for peace and stability in Europe; and 

Whereas, on February 26, 2024, the Hungarian Parliament 

voted in support of the accession of Sweden to NATO: 

Now, therefore, be it 


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1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the important role Hungary can 

3 play in European and transatlantic security; 

4 (2) condemns the ongoing democratic back5 sliding in Hungary, perpetuated by the closing of 

6 civil spaces and the consolidation of power at the 

7 highest levels of government, including the restric8 tions placed on the judicial system; 

9 (3) reaffirms the indispensable role a free and 

10 independent media plays in supporting government 

11 transparency and democratic accountability, and the 

12 efforts of the Government of Hungary to curtail and 

13 undermine such activities; 

14 (4) urges Hungary to continue working at the 

15 bilateral, multilateral, and regional levels on military 

16 cooperation, energy independence, and democratic 

17 resilience with other democratic actors; 

18 (5) expresses concern with the deepening rela19 tionship between Hungary, the Russian Federation, 

20 and the People’s Republic of China; 

21 (6) welcomes the vote of Hungary on February 

22 26, 2024, ratifying the accession of Sweden to the 

23 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); and 

24 (7) expresses regret that the Government of 

25 Hungary, as the last member of NATO to schedule 


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1 a vote on the NATO membership of Sweden, unnec2 essarily prolonged the accession of Sweden to 

3 NATO. 

Æ 


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