Csaba Dömötör, an MEP of ruling Fidesz, said in a post on Facebook on Monday that the "threatening tone" used in an editorial in the "Brussels mouthpiece" EUobserver "is harsher than usual".

In the article, Andrew Rettman, the outlet's foreign editor, called for EU funding to be withheld from Hungary, as well as court procedures, "public humiliation and boycotts" to "break Hungary", Dömötör said. This was because Hungary has rejected the latest sanctions package, "which would bring further increases in energy prices", he added.

He said the article provided a list of ways to put Hungary under pressure. "Please, someone tell this 'independent journalist' that what he's suggesting has been going on for years... We haven't broken yet, and we won't break now," Dömötör declared.