In a move that will have more than symbolic ramifications for European unity, the European Parliament has approved a proposal deeming Hungary under the leadership of Viktor Orbán “to be no longer a true democracy,” but rather a “hybrid regime of parliamentary autocracy.”

European parliamentarians meeting at Strasbourg voted with 433 in favor, 123 against, with 28 abstentions, on a proposal put forward by a member of the French Green party, Gwendolyn Delbos-Corfield. The decision may jeopardize Budapest’s access to EU funds.

Since 2010, Hungary has been governed by Mr. Orbán, a populist prime minister who often speaks of practicing “illiberal democracy” and maintains what some see as uncomfortably close relations with the Russian strongman, Vladimir Putin.

“Hungary is not a democracy,” Ms. Delbos-Corfield said during the debate in the European Parliament, adding that it was more urgent than ever for the parliament to take a firm position “considering the alarming rate at which the rule of law is backsliding in Hungary.”

Ms. Delbos-Corfield also accused Mr. Orbán of misallocating EU funds. “We know that the one receiving the European funds is Orbán’s family,” she told fellow lawmakers. She also denounced “the restrictions on parliamentary rights” in Hungary as well as other problematic developments, such as the surveillance of journalists, government control over universities, and passage of a law said to impinge on gay rights that resembles legislation in Russia.

Now, because of Brussels’ concerns about corruption and the management of public project contracts in Hungary, Hungary faces the withholding of billions of euros from European funds. In April the European Commission activated a mechanism that links the disbursement of European funds to respect for the rule of law. On Sunday, it will propose that member states withhold the majority of funds previously earmarked for Budapest. 

That move would seriously undercut Hungary’s quest to obtain nearly $5 billion from the EU’s Covid recovery funds, which have been frozen since 2021, as well as “cohesion funds” and other money for infrastructure and economic development.

According to the Guardian newspaper, a German European parliament member, Moritz Körner, said he was briefed by the European Commission and that “more or less what we hear is that the commission will propose these sanctions or financial measures.”

Yet the door is door open for Mr. Orbán, as Hungary could avoid sanctions if it implements anti-corruption reforms within the next three months. The Guardian also reported that “after a charm offensive in Brussels, Hungary’s government is expected next week to propose a raft of laws to combat corruption,” but that “critics fear the Commission is ready to accept cosmetic changes to defuse the conflicts over EU funds.”

A European parliament member from the German Green party, Daniel Freund, said that “there is a very short timeframe and … to expect that the damage that Orbán has done with [his] constitutional majority over 12 years can now be repaired in a matter of weeks, or a couple of months, I think is optimistic to put it mildly.”

Another European parliamentarian, Fabienne Keller, said, “If Hungary were a candidate for EU membership today it would not meet the admission criteria — this is the sad finding of the proposal.”

That may or may not be the case, but it is true that in 2018, the European Parliament, invoking Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, which allows the EU to suspend certain rights from a member state, launched an infringement procedure against Hungary on the basis of violation of European values.

The pressure will now be on Budapest.