Budapest: A delegation of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee welcomed Hungary’s rule-of-law reforms on 28 October 2026 but took no position on closing the Article 7 procedure opened against Budapest in 2018. Sophie Wilmès, a Belgian Renew Europe member who chairs the Parliament’s Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group, led the visit from 26 to 28 October, according to Agence Europe.

Wilmès said the contrast with the delegation’s 2025 visit is striking. She credited Péter Magyar’s government with ending the state of emergency, abolishing the Sovereignty Protection Office and joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. She also welcomed reforms on the judiciary, anti-corruption and media independence, and the repeal of certain discriminatory measures affecting LGBTQI+ people.

The delegation still left the Article 7 procedure untouched. Wilmès said the group had no mandate to decide and still had to examine information gathered from authorities, judges, journalists and civil society. Agence Europe reports that the future of the Article 7 procedure “remains an open question.”

Reservations remain. Wilmès flagged open questions on judicial independence, prosecution of high-level corruption, media freedom and fundamental rights. She called for broad consultation on a new constitution and on electoral reform, and she said the effects of limiting parliamentary office to three terms on democratic pluralism have yet to be examined.

Tineke Strik, the Dutch Greens/EFA member who serves as Parliament’s rapporteur on the Article 7 procedure, also welcomed progress. She asked for further changes on LGBTIQ+ and Roma rights and for an asylum system that complies with EU law. Her Greens/EFA colleague Daniel Freund said in early October that several conditions for releasing EU funds had probably been met, although he judged that the Commission was moving too quickly.

The calendar now matters. The delegation will present its conclusions to the committee, Parliament plans a plenary debate on 24 November, and MEPs are due to vote on a resolution in December. No decision on closing the Article 7 procedure has been taken. Parliament’s press room carries its official releases, but at the time of writing it listed none on the visit.

Closing the Article 7 procedure would mark a political turning point, because the file has strained relations between Budapest and Brussels for eight years. The reforms Wilmès welcomed give Magyar’s government a strong case, yet the open questions on courts, corruption and media give sceptics their argument. The December vote will show whether MEPs treat the new laws as lasting change or as a first instalment.