Brussels, 26/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - “If the European Commission feels that there is a risk (over the freedom of expression), we will find a solution which is of satisfaction to it and the Hungarian public”. This was the statement made on Wednesday 26 January by Hungarian Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics, who was meeting MEPs from the committee on justice and civil liberties of the EP (LIBE) to present his priorities, an opportunity taken by some to reiterate concerns over the new Hungarian law on media. Claude Moraes (S&D, UK) asked the minister whether this law could possibly restrict the freedom of expression, as was suggested by Commissioner Neelie Kroes, who is responsible for the Media portfolio, in her letter to Budapest dated Friday 21 January. The Dutch MEP Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA), raised the issue of the consistency of a minister who is planning to put the finishing touches to the EU's accession to the European Human Rights Convention whilst his government, she argues, is in breach of it with its media law.
Defending himself, the minister first of all stated that the notion of “balanced coverage” of events already illustrates “the great diversity of cultural traditions in the 27” and shows “the different interpretations which can be given to the same phenomenon”. Because, the minister continued, “in Hungary, we have never heard that balanced coverage could be a threat to the freedom of expression”. According to Navracsics, this law has, on the contrary, the stated objective of “reinforcing the freedom of expression”, and this principle of balanced coverage needs to be “explained better”, as “the principle should not be examined for each programme broadcast, but it is a question of looking at the overall tendencies of an entire series of programmes”. Notwithstanding, the minister assured the MEPs, if the “Commission believes that this principle should not be regulated in such detail, we are prepared to change this”. He added that his country intended to “do its best”.
As regards the minister's other priorities, there was consensus on some of them, such as plans to reinforce the fundamental rights culture in the EU and shore up citizens' rights (both of which subjects were discussed at the recent informal JHA Council in Gödöllõ), but the MEPs were divided over others. On the issue of victim protection within the EU, victims of domestic violence are one of the priorities. This dossier is currently stuck in a logjam between work at stalemate at the Council (Ed: qualified majority no longer exists, but the EP approved the text of the Spanish Presidency) and proposals on the overall protection of victims announced by the European Commission, which are not yet on the table. The MEPs would therefore like to know whether the Hungarian Presidency intends to move forward on what already exists, in other words the texts of the European protection orders. Here, the minister was reluctant to commit himself, reminding them that there was no “qualified majority at the Council and we must first of all wait for the Commission documents”, which are expected for May 2011 logically, said Tibor Navracsics, who therefore could not “guarantee what the results will be under our Presidency”.
The minister was then asked about the protection of personal data in the framework of the PNR and the transatlantic framework agreement on data protection which the Commission plans to negotiate with the United States. On this issue, the minister pledged to keep the MEPs as well informed as possible, even though “it is the Commission which will be negotiating this”, and to ensure that these agreements would be fully “"in line with European data protection culture”, said Navracsics. He added that a meeting of EU-USA JHA ministers in Budapest in April “could breathe new life” into the negotiations, particularly on the part of the Americans, who have not yet appointed their negotiator for the data protection agreement.
Other promises made are: to agree, in June 2011, on “the directive on the fight against the sexual exploitation of children” and in May, to adopt new legislation on children's rights. But on another pressing request of the MEPs, to relaunch the anti-discrimination directive proposed in 2008, Navracsics declined responsibility, stating that this dossier “is instead a matter for the minister for EPSCO”. (S.P./transl.fl)