Brussels, 12/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Commission President José Manuel Barroso took a tough stance in Copenhagen on Thursday 12 January saying he was ready to use all the powers at his disposal to ensure that Hungary complies with European legislation. The cause of this is a number of laws voted in Hungary which jeopardise the independence of the country's central bank and that of its magistrates (see EUROPE 10529).
Speaking at a press conference in Copenhagen to launch the beginning of Denmark's term of presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, Barroso said they would do everything possible to make sure that Hungary comes into line with European Union rules. He asserted, moreover, that he was encouraged by signs from Budapest that the Orban government was ready to “negotiate” on contentious points.
On Wednesday, the European Commission raised the tone a notch when addressing the government under Viktor Orban, whose opponents accuse him of being prone to authoritarian tendencies. It threatened to drag Budapest before the courts if nothing were done to amend laws that are detrimental to the independence of the justice system and to that of the country's central bank. In practical terms, three letters of formal notice may be sent to the Hungarian government next week giving it two months in which to come into line with European law, failing which action will be initiated at the European Court of Justice. Resumption of talks on economic aid, requested of the EU and IMF by Budapest, depends mainly on whether the central bank remains independent.
This subject will be top of the agenda during next week's European Parliament session in Strasbourg. Some MEPs, such as the leader of the Liberal Democrat group at the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, have suggested activating a clause of Article 7 of the European Treaty against Budapest, allowing suspension of voting rights within the EU in the event of serious and continued breach of the EU27's fundamental values. A number of liberal European commissioners are said, during the meeting of the European college of commissioners on Wednesday, to have made an inside appeal for this course of action to be ruled out. Nonetheless, the Commission as a whole, which is responsible for ensuring respect of the EU treaties, for now rules out proposing such a robust option. In order to reach such an outcome, all 26 heads of state and government of the EU27 would have to agree, i.e. there would have to be unanimity except for the state in the hot seat. For now, very few have expressed their views and none have said that Hungary has violated the treaty. They have simply expressed concern. France is among the few European countries to openly state its concern. (LC/transl.jl)