Brussels, 13/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Hungarian law muzzling the media causes the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) concern, to the point that its next meeting, scheduled for May in Budapest, may be cancelled. Louis Michel (ALDE, Belgium), the co-president of this twice-yearly political gathering of an equal number of MEPs and ACP deputies, had decided to convene a meeting of JPA Bureau members in Strasbourg on Thursday 20 January (it being too expensive to call up all EU and ACP members) to discuss how appropriate it is to hold the JPA in the Hungarian capital. In so doing, Louis Michel meets the request made by Charles Goerens (ALDE, Luxembourg), JPA Vice-President, in a letter on 4 January. Goerens said that, since its creation, the JPA has continued to work in favour of the principle of rule of law, fundamental freedoms including press freedom, and that the Hungarian authorities are distancing themselves from these principles. Under such conditions, re-examining how appropriate it is to meet in Budapest is a must, Goerens said, all the more as the European Parliament cannot miss an opportunity to slam on the EU's fundamental values, wherever they may occur. (A.N./transl.jl)