[en] In the context of the EU’s rule of law crisis, peripherical situations which barely fall within the scope of EU law despite their EU-sensitive impact cast a new light on the limits of EU action vis-à-vis Member State discretion. This discretion amounts to abuse in the case of the Hungarian electorate being shaped in a way to consolidate Fidesz’s power through the un-muting of “Hungarians beyond the borders”. According to Hungarian law, all Hungarians living in neighbouring states are entitled to preferential naturalisation without any requirement of residency in Hungary or proof of Hungarian descent, which entails the automatic granting of EU citizenship and its associated rights, creating circumstances comparable to those in the Maltese golden passport cases. Moreover, statistical analysis based on available data demonstrates that granting voting rights to “Hungarians beyond the borders” has influenced national election results in a favourable manner to Fidesz in the past decade and a half, leading to an even greater distortion of democratic representativeness. In addition, all travel, educational and cultural benefits that only “Hungarians beyond the borders” enjoy by law raise several discrimination concerns. Since this preferential regime is predominantly rooted in prerogatives reserved for Member States, the EU is left with very little room for action within the relevant fields of citizenship, democracy, fundamental rights or economic freedoms.
