EU Parliament factions split over proposed mission to inspect detention of Hungarian opposition figures

The European Parliament’s Justice Committee planned a late-October mission to Hungary to assess the circumstances of opposition politicians detained on corruption-related charges, notably Hankó Balázs, Seszták Miklós and Bús Balázs. The request originated from the Patrióták Európáért (PfE) faction, which nominated members such as László András for the six-person delegation. A broad majority of EP political groups rejected the proposal, arguing the agenda omitted prison visits and was overly partisan.

Mission leader Tineke Strik noted earlier visits had been met with hostility from the Hungarian government, and other MEPs complained about aggressive rhetoric and alleged ties to Soros-affiliated organisations. Hungary’s former state secretary Zsigmond Barna Pál described the delegation as a new attack on the country. A separate budgetary-control delegation is set for early November to scrutinise EU fund usage in Hungary.