Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

There is a tricky issue around Article 7 and Hungary, and I just want to get it exactly right. In the context of Hungary, we have been a very strong voice on various laws it has brought in. For example, on a child protection law and a lot of stuff that is really just anti-LGBT. We do not approve of it. We do not support it. We think it is inconsistent with Hungary's membership of the European Union. It is not part of the foundational values and we have been strong about that.

We had a discussion at the last General Affairs Council, which is part of an ongoing Article 7 process. The difficulty with that process is that it is ongoing. The Article 7 process should be about the EU safeguarding its founding values, including the rule of law, where there is a serious risk of breach by member states. The Hungarian Government's actions in general continue to draw strong criticism from other member states. The Deputy talked about sanctions against Hungary and suspending its membership. A rule of law mechanism was introduced in relation to funding, and Hungary has lost a lot of funding. I will not put an exact figure on it, but it is high.