Brussels, 13/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - A debate, or at least position taking, will be held next week during the plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 19 January on the new Hungarian media law as part of the traditional framework for presentation, by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, of the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency. There will not, however, be either a debate strictly speaking on this subject or a political resolution, albeit requested at the beginning of the week by the ALDE Group.
This request for a specific debate and a political resolution did not get across to the participants of the conference of presidents of EP political groups held during the morning of Thursday 13 January - a disappointment for the ALDE Group which hoped the Parliament would take action speedily.
Failure was, moreover, attributed to the EPP Group, which was obviously very reticent about the protest action to be made against this law, and also to the S&D Group headed by Martin Schulz of Germany. Both groups refused, on Thursday, to adopt the draft resolution.
In a letter addressed the same day to the Hungarian prime minister, the president of the S&D Group, Martin Schulz, did, however, call on Hungary to “withdraw” the controversial law. Schulz calls on the authorities to take time to reflect upon the law and to bring it into line with European values. In his view, this should be done if things are to augur well for the Hungarian Presidency.
Is this inconsistent with the fact that the Group refused a resolution in plenary? Not at all, explains Paolo Alberti, Schulz's spokesman, who specifies that the group is not at all opposed to a resolution in plenary but that this time action is perhaps somewhat premature. “We shall wait and see what happens at the extraordinary meeting on Monday at the EP civil liberties committee (Ed: scheduled to meet during the evening of Monday 17 January with Neelie Kroes and Viviane Reding). We need sound assessment of this law so that we can know whether concrete action is needed, such as infringement proceedings”, Alberti explains. He goes on to add that the time necessary for in-depth study of the law will “give us stronger arguments”. Hungary has so far not opposed amending its highly criticised law but would do so only if imposed upon it after a legal analysis by the European Commission. Such an analysis could not, however, be concluded by the end of the Hungarian term of presidency. (S.P./transl.jl)