The majority of EU countries want the European Commission to crack down on Hungary over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s plan to ban upcoming Pride celebrations in Budapest, according to a joint statement seen by POLITICO. The move piles pressure on the Commission to penalize Budapest, just as EU diplomats warn of increasing momentum to deploy the “nuclear option” against Hungary over its obstructionism on Ukraine. In the statement, which was coordinated by the Dutch foreign ministry, 14 countries call on Brussels to “expeditiously make full use of the rule of law toolbox at its disposal” to make Budapest relent on its Pride ban. “We are highly alarmed by these developments,” reads the letter, signed by Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. A series of Hungarian laws which threaten fines against organizers of and participants in LGBTQ+ events, under the guise of child protection, “run contrary to the fundamental values to human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights as laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union,” the statement reads. The text doesn’t spell out which measures Brussels should take. The obvious option, though, would be to impose so-called “interim measures” against Hungary, which are tantamount to EU legal injunctions against a government to prevent harm, in this case by ordering Budapest to allow the Pride celebration. Brussels, which is withholding €18 billion in EU funds from Hungary over rule-of-law violations, has so far balked at further coercive action. Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib pushed back on the idea of imposing interim measures during a meeting last week, according to a participant. A failure to implement the measures could then trigger penalties. Lahbib told the lawmakers she lacked support from her boss, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for further action. A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the report. A spokesperson for the Hungarian Permanent Representation in Brussels did not immediately reply to a request for comment. THE NUCLEAR OPTION The statement piles pressure on von der Leyen to go further at a time when EU officials and diplomats report a change in the mood toward Hungary. “Frustration toward Hungary has been building massively,” said one EU official, referring to Budapest’s refusal to approve any EU aid to Ukraine. “If there’s an existential threat at our borders, how long are you going to put up with that?” A man holds a rainbow umbrella as he writes ‘Orban is homophobe’ during a protest in support of the Hungarian LGBT community in front of Hungarian embassy, in Prague, Czech Republic, 30 March 2022. | Martin Divisek/EPA-EFE Ahead of a gathering of the EU’s General Affairs Council on Tuesday, Swedish Europe Minister Jessica Rosencrantz told POLITICO that patience with Hungary was running out. “After seven years and seven hearings, we are at a crossroads,” she said. “Unless we see a completely new Hungarian approach at today’s meeting, I see no point in continuing these hearings. It’s high time we get serious about next steps.” Another EU official said momentum was building in capitals to use the nuclear option — stripping Hungary of its voting rights in the European Council via so-called Article 7 proceedings. In order to do so, a four-fifths majority of EU countries would first need to vote that Budapest has violated the EU treaty. Then, 26 countries (all EU members minus the one targeted) would need to vote on stripping Budapest of voting rights on matters like foreign policy or EU enlargement. The second official stated that at least 19 countries currently support moving forward with Article 7 proceedings, three short of the number needed to pass the first threshold. Two diplomats said that the greater challenge was the next step, requiring 26 countries in favor. Achieving such a majority would require the full commitment of both Paris and Berlin. “You only want to hit that button when you know you’re going to win,” said one of the two diplomats. So you need to have Paris and Berlin fully on board. Someone needs to call Robert Fico” — the prime minister of Slovakia, who could be expected to back Hungary. Currently, France and Germany are on the fence, with neither country signing the statement. But that could still change, both diplomats underscored, pointing to the German government’s coalition deal, which calls for dealing with rule-of-law problems in the bloc. “They are looking at each other to see who’s going to blink first,” said the second diplomat. Csongor Körömi contributed reporting.

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday rejected Romanian far-right presidential candidate Călin Georgescu’s petition to reinstate the result of the annulled first round of the country’s election. The first round of Romania’s election last November saw Georgescu, a largely unknown, pro-Moscow ultranationalist candidate claim a shock victory. But the contest was annulled by Romania’s Constitutional Court before the second round runoff could take place, with Georgescu benefitting from a Russia-style booster campaign involving TikTok, according to declassified Romanian intelligence documents. Georgescu filed a petition with the ECHR asking for the result of the first round to be reinstated as an interim measure. But on Tuesday the Strasbourg-based court threw out his case, ruling it fell “outside the scope of application of Rule 39,” which relates to when the court can issue such urgent orders. It did not rule on the merits of his case otherwise. Georgescu also lost a bid in a Romanian appeals court earlier this month to overturn the annulment. The unprecedented cancelation of Romania’s vote drew condemnation from across the political spectrum, including from Georgescu’s ideological foes. His would-be opponent in the now-canceled runoff, reformist candidate Elena Lasconi, said Romania’s democracy was being “trampled” by the state. A new election will take place on May 4, with a runoff planned two weeks later on May 18. Georgescu said he will run again and is leading in the polls — though the reliability of such surveys was called into question by his unforeseen victory the first time round.

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s new social media rules are being tested to the limit by allegations of an orchestrated TikTok campaign to rig Romania’s presidential election. Ultranationalist Călin Georgescu’s shock win in the first round of the Romanian election put pressure on the European Commission to show that it can use its new powers to clamp down on online content to look at how Georgescu’s social media account got a vital last-minute boost. Regulators can now fine companies up to 6 percent of their global annual turnover or even temporarily block their services in the EU. Brussels’ response for now? We’re looking into it. The Commission, which oversees TikTok because of the sheer size of the platform, faces the delicate balancing act of proving that its content-moderation rulebook — the Digital Services Act — works while avoiding being accused of jumping to conclusions or interfering with national elections. The Romanian case adds to the EU’s efforts to wrangle X owner, free speech advocate and Donald Trump protégé Elon Musk, who has publicly defied the EU’s social media rules. If Brussels can’t show that it can tackle these key issues, the credibility of the EU’s flagship social media law could crumble — just when lawmakers and NGOs expect the rules to begin to bite. The Commission is “kind of tiptoeing,” said Eliška Pírková, who covers the DSA at campaign group AccessNow. SORE POINT Georgescu’s stunning win quickly saw the Commission facing the heat. Just two days after the election, even as details about Georgescu’s late TikTok surge were still scarce, the Romanian audiovisual regulator asked the Commission to probe the video-sharing app. It alleged that TikTok’s algorithm amplified content that “disproportionally favoured one candidate,” it detailed in a statement shared with POLITICO. This didn’t immediately trigger a probe from the Brussels-based authority. Instead, it expanded an older set of questions to TikTok with new queries about the platform’s system to recommend content to users and the risks of malicious actors exploiting the app. It also called TikTok, Facebook parent Meta, Google, Microsoft and X in for a chat. The Commission’s cautious approach starkly contrasted with fury from European lawmakers about how TikTok handled the election, especially during a hearing with the company’s executives about a week after Georgescu’s win. Ultranationalist Călin Georgescu’s shock win in the first round of the Romanian election put pressure on the European Commission to show that it can use its new powers to clamp down on online content. | Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images “There’s no ability to intervene quickly in these situations, and the platforms clearly don’t seem to care,” European lawmaker Kim Van Sparrentak from the Greens lashed out. Only minutes later, the Commission’s Rita Wezenbeek, boss of the platforms directorate, said the EU executive had not formed an opinion yet. The ultimate sore point is the speed of DSA enforcement which doesn’t come close to matching the rapid spread of social media. Until now, only one platform, Musk’s X, has been warned that it may breach the EU’s social media law. That is “rather disappointing,” said Pírková, who said that she nevertheless understood the reasons for the slower pace. “The Commission is very cautious, because first of all, the investigation has to have enough evidence, enough data that were collected with sound methodologies,” she said. The EU executive is particularly fearful of being accused of meddling with national elections. Former Commissioner Thierry Breton was accused of interfering with the U.S. elections in August when he reminded Musk of EU requirements to comply with the law ahead of an interview with Donald Trump, now the U.S. president-elect. QUICK FIX The EU’s social media law was also never intended to act as a quick fix for occurrences like the Romanian election. Calls for a probe into TikTok have zoned in one article in the law — Article 34 — mandating that platforms like TikTok assess so-called systemic risks. One systemic risk is the damage that recommender systems, like TikTok’s algorithm, could do to public discourse and elections. But any probe and any finding that TikTok breached the law would do nothing to change the political reality after the Romanian vote. Yet, the current outcry from the Romanian election could pave the way for closer monitoring of future polls. Greens lawmaker Alexandra Geese, who co-negotiated the digital rulebook, said the “Commission should learn from this experience and clearly lay out which interim measures can be taken against platforms during an election.” TikTok has now been ordered to store any data on national elections in the EU until March of next year. This means the order, necessary to pave the way for any future investigation, will be in place when Germany goes to the polls on Feb. 23.