Hungarian PM Viktor Orban vows to defy EU pressure ahead of unprecedented vote

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the European Parliament on Tuesday he would not bow to EU "blackmail" as lawmakers prepared to vote on whether to punish Budapest for eroding democracy.

Some momentum might have been building against Orban during the evening ahead of the Wednesday vote. But it was still unclear whether the 751-strong European Parliament would be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to pass the censure motion, which accuses Hungary of breaching core EU values.

Since sweeping to power in 2010, Orban has pressured Hungary's courts, media and non-governmental groups, as well as refusing to take in asylum seekers arriving in Europe. Though the European Union has often protested, it has largely failed to stop what his critics decry as his growing authoritarianism.

If approved, the motion would go to the EU's national leaders, theoretically opening the way for sanctions such as a suspension of Hungary's voting rights in the bloc.

But in practice that is sure to be blocked by Orban's ally, the nationalist government in Poland that is locked in its own dispute with the EU over undercutting the rule of law.

Directly addressing EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, Orban cast Wednesday's vote as an act of revenge for his refusal to host refugees who have fled to Europe from the Middle East and North Africa since 2015.

"Hungary shall not bow to blackmail," said Orban, whose right-wing Fidesz party was re-elected with a landslide majority last April.

"Hungary shall continue to defend its borders, stop illegal immigration and defend its rights – against you, too, if necessary," he said, drawing applause from the eurosceptic, far-right lawmakers in the assembly.

Orban has said the mostly Muslim refugees pose an existential threat to Europe's Christian civilisation. He has also waged a vociferous campaign against Hungarian-born, Jewish American billionaire philanthropist George Soros and the liberal causes he backs in formerly-communist eastern Europe.