Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar faces EU scrutiny over Human Rights Watch report

Two months after his April victory, Peter Magyar assumed the premiership of Hungary. A Human Rights Watch report released in June criticised his government for curbing press freedom, undermining judicial independence and targeting the media landscape. The report is now under review by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), which will assess whether the new administration’s actions breach EU standards.

Magyar’s reforms include an amendment to dismiss President Tamás Sulyok, raising the retirement age for Supreme Court judges, imposing a 12‑year term limit for members of parliament and suspending the public broadcaster M1 for broadcasting the regime’s propaganda. EU leaders such as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had initially praised his rise as a historic shift away from Viktor Orbán’s rule, but the HRW findings have raised concerns about a possible retaliation against the former power structure.