Speaking before the European Parliament on Tuesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the parliament was attempting to condemn the whole of Hungary as a nation because it refused to become a country of migrations.

The European Parliament discussed the report on the status of press and academic freedoms and the treatment of minorities and asylum seekers in Hungary, written by MEP Judith Sargentini of the Netherlands’ GreenLeft party, part of the European Green Party. The report called on the European Council to trigger Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, which can lead to a member state losing its voting rights in the Council.

“The European Union is based on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights, including rights of minorities. These values are shared by all the member states in a society in which pluralism, non discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, and gender equality prevail. If we all share these values, we are bound to protect them whenever they are in danger,” Sargentini said in the report.

The report was met with mixed response in the parliament, with former head of the British Eurosceptic UK Independent Party Nigel Farage saying the report was offensive both to Orban and his country.

First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, said in a direct discussion with Orban that Hungary cannot ignore or break the rules they agreed to uphold by joining the EU.

“The EC protects treaties, and the treaties are signed, they are the basis of our activity,” Timmermans said.

Two thirds of the 750 MEPs need to vote in favour of the resolution in order for it to be adopted.

“I know you have already decided on this issue and I know the great majority of you will support this report. I also know that my speech will do nothing to change your minds. I still came here because you are preparing to condemn not just a government, but an entire country, an entire people. You will condemn Hungary, which has been a part of the European Christian family for a thousand years,” Orban said.

Orban said that the goal was to exclude Hungary from the decision-making process and take away its right to defend its own interests.

“If we truly want to be united in diversity, then those differences cannot lead to condemning any member state, and excluding it from the decision-making process,” he said.

“Whatever your decision, Hungary will not give in to blackmail. We will stop illegal migrations and protect our rights, even from you if necessary. We will see what will be the results of May election. I think democracy will come back into European politics,” he said.

Orban’s right-wing government has been criticised by Bruxelles on numerous occasions over decisions which were said to undermine the democratic standards in the country.

He was elected for his third consecutive term as Prime Minister in April this year, and has announced that he would work on building a “Christian democracy rooted in the European tradition.”

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