The European Parliament (EP) on Tuesday, October 7th voted to protect Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar from prosecution, rejecting multiple requests from Hungarian authorities to lift his parliamentary immunity. The decision once again showcases how the EP’s left-liberal majority selectively applies justice to protect its political allies.
The vote followed the recommendation of the EP’s Legal Affairs Committee, which last month urged that Magyar, leader of Hungary’s Europhile TISZA Party and a member of the centrist-liberal European People’s Party (EPP), retain his immunity.
The same protection was extended to fellow Hungarian MEP Klára Dobrev of the neoliberal opposition party Democratic Coalition and to Italian radical left-wing activist and MEP Ilaria Salis.
In contrast, the Parliament voted to lift the immunity of two Polish right-wing MEPs from the Law and Justice Party (PiS), Michał Dworczyk and Daniel Obajtek.
The decision on Péter Magyar was taken by a show of hands, meaning no detailed voting record was published. Yet it is clear that it was the leftist parties and the EPP—the largest group in the Parliament—proving they are not interested in justice at all, and stick together when necessary. The vote also reveals the hypocrisy of Brussels’ political elite which has withheld billions of euros of EU funds from Hungary because of alleged “rule of law” violations by the conservative government of Viktor Orbán.
The Hungarian authorities had requested permission to proceed with criminal cases against Magyar, including a theft charge linked to an incident in June 2024, when he seized a mobile phone from a man recording him and later threw it into the Danube following a late-night altercation in a Budapest nightclub. Two further requests related to defamation lawsuits were also dismissed.
“The Left protects the phone thief Péter Magyar, while the EPP shields Salis, who beat Hungarians in the streets. They will abandon any victim and defend any perpetrator if it serves their power interests,” MEP Csaba Dömötör of Orbán’s Fidesz party said.
German Green MEP Daniel Freund, by contrast, defended the decision, dismissing the Hungarian charges as politically motivated. “The accusations against Péter Magyar are absurd. Orbán is trying to silence his opponent with a smear campaign,” he posted on X.
Right-wing politicians in Hungary were quick to condemn what they called blatant bias. Mi Hazánk leader László Toroczkai said the vote showed that “if a politician serves the liberal-globalist forces, he can hide behind immunity to steal a phone or beat people half to death with iron rods.” He added that Hungary must “sweep away” those forces entirely.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his allies have argued for years that Brussels enforces double standards—swiftly punishing right-wing figures while protecting leftist and liberal politicians. Orbán’s Fidesz party has accused the EPP and its left-wing partners of colluding to install what the prime minister has described as a “Brusselite puppet regime” in Budapest, loyal to the EU’s pro-migration and pro-LGBT agenda.
With the next Hungarian elections approaching, Tuesday’s vote is likely to strengthen the government’s claim that Péter Magyar—now shielded once more by the European Parliament—is not only an opposition leader, but also Brussels’ man in Budapest.
