Brussels, 17/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 17 January, the European Commission decided, as it had suggested last week, to open three infringement proceedings against Hungary, giving it formal notice on the subject of three, highly controversial, proposed constitutional reforms which took effect on 1st January. These reforms are on the independence of the central bank, on the mandatory retirement age for judges and on the independence of the authority which protects personal data.
The Commission also gave Budapest one month in which to answer the letters of formal notice (the first stage before a reasoned opinion and referral to the CJEU), unlike the traditional two-months. The Commission felt it had given Hungary sufficient time to take a stance, especially given the fact that several letters have been exchanged in recent weeks between the Hungarian government and the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and also with Viviane Reding. The Commission took early action, informing Budapest of its doubts, so that the 4-week time limit for a response now seems quite sufficient, a Commission source said, also highlighting the unusual nature of the affair. On Tuesday, a Hungarian minister, Zoltan Kovacs, gave his assurance that Hungary was ready to settle all the problems raised by the Commission.
As it had explained last week, the Commission reproaches Budapest for a series of controversial reforms voted through by the Hungarian parliament.
On the subject of the independence of the central bank, the reform advocated by Budapest mainly provides for the government to appoint one out of three vice-presidents of the bank. The Commission has therefore reminded Budapest of the provisions set out in Article 130 of the Treaty guaranteeing the independence of European central banks and that of the European Central Bank (ECB). Prime Minister Viktor Orban nonetheless stated last week that he had heeded the Commission's criticism on this point. The European executive has in fact made settlement of the problem of the Hungarian central bank a condition for granting a loan (of €15-20 billion) that Hungary is requesting of the EU and of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The European commissioner for economic questions, Olli Rehn, underlined on Tuesday that the “full independence of the central bank” was a condition to be met if funding is to be granted. This point must be settled before talks can begin on financial aid, Rehn said.
On the subject of reforms which bring judges' retirement age down from 70 to 62, the Commission highlighted breach of the directive on discrimination when it comes to employment based on age (Directive EC/2000/78). “If there is discrimination, then that must be based on objective and proportionate criteria”, Françoise Le Bail, Director General at DG Justice, said last Thursday. On data protection, Budapest should clarify its position on compliance of its laws with the 1995 directive on data protection, as well as on compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Last week, the Commission had announced its doubts on this reform, which mainly gives the government the power of arbitrary appointment and dismissal.
On Tuesday also, in parallel to the letters of formal notice, the Commission decided to put a more general request to Budapest regarding the conception of the independence of the justice system. It thus hopes for elements of information on the new mandate of the president of the Supreme Court, which replaces the president with a Curia with different prerogatives, as well as on the new law organising tribunals. The Commission states that the operational management of the courts is no longer framed by a collegial decision-making system or by other appropriate safeguards. All important decisions concerning the justice system, including the appointment of judges, are now taken by a single person. Budapest, which will soon be receiving these four requests, will therefore have one month in which to explain itself. Orban will also be at the EP on Wednesday 18 January, in Strasbourg, to discuss the matter with MEPs, in an atmosphere that promises to be tense. He will also be in Brussels on 24 January, where he will meet Barroso.
For the European Commission president, allowing a member state to contravene European principles is unthinkable. “We do not want the shadow of doubt on respect for democratic principles and values to remain over the country any longer”, Barroso said on Tuesday. Hungary, like all the other states of the EU, is required by the treaties to guarantee the independence of the national central bank, the retirement age of judges and the independence of the data protection authority, he went on to say. Thus far, the Commission has not made any reference in its letters of formal notice to the possibility of Article 7 of the Treaty being invoked. This allows any member state which breaches the rules and the European spirit to be penalised by having its voting rights withdrawn. Several MEPs, from the ALDE Group in particular, have called on the Commission to make use of this provision. ALDE Group leader in the EP, Guy Verhofstadt regretted on Tuesday that the Commission had stopped short of using this mechanism. “The case of Hungary is not just about technical breaches of EU legislation”, it is about “a wider concern of gradual but persistent erosion of EU values”, and “it is stated in Article 7 that when there 'is a clear risk of a serious breach by a member state of the values referred to in Article 2' the EU institutions shall take action”, Verhofstadt argued.
The leader of the Greens/EFA Group was also disappointed. Hélène Flautre regretted that the Commission had elected to take a “purely legal approach” to events which impinge directly on the values of the EU. In a press release, the Greens welcomed the assessment and the decision to launch infringement proceedings against Hungary. However, the group expressed concern that the Commission's assessment fails to address other worrying proposals, which embody the scale-back of democracy in Hungary. For Rebecca Harms, “the Commission assessment misses the bigger picture however and fails to deal with the broader thrust of the democratic scale-back in Hungary, which is completely at odds with the core values on which the EU is founded. The Commission also fails to deal with other cardinal laws, which will undermine political and media pluralism in Hungary, and which embody the authoritarian drive of the Orban government”. Daniel Cohn-Bendit said that the EU must “take stronger action in defence of the core values on which the Union is founded and prevent the slide away from democracy in Hungary, which is totally at odds with the interests of its citizens and its economy”. The Greens/EFA Group also called for the initiation of a procedure under Article 7 of the EU Treaty to examine whether Hungary is in breach of EU fundamental values.
The new leader of the S&D Group, Hannes Swoboda, suggested that Hungary was sliding from democracy into totalitarianism and said that the debate on Wednesday (to which Orban invited himself, with the agreement of the Danish Presidency) will provide the opportunity to tell him that “the way he is acting is not acceptable. Going back to totalitarian ways is unacceptable.”
The EPP, of which Fidesz, is a member, is remaining serene as the storm rages. EPP leader Joseph Daul has ruled out expulsion of Orban from the group. When asked about the pressure brought to bear by the EPP on the prime minister, Daul pointed out that Orban “said again yesterday that he would comply with the requests of the Commission. If he complies with Commission demands and brings his text into line, why should I call for him to be expelled from the EPP? You have to think before you act”.
Marisa Matias (GUE/NGL, Portugal) said on Tuesday 17 January that the Hungarian government was calling into question the fundamental principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, and was trying to prevent any possibility of changing its controversial laws in the future. “That is why it's so important. The constitution and the famous cardinal laws will need a two-thirds majority if they are to be amended at a later date”¸ she said, arguing that this would prevent any attempt to change the laws. “This is the very negation of democracy”, she railed.
The action taken by the Commission against Hungary on Tuesday is reminiscent of how things played out in January 2011 between the Commissions, in particular the staff of Commissioner Kroes, and Budapest on the media law, which, by bringing in new registration requirements and licences, sought to restrict the number of media in Hungary. The Commission called on the Hungarian government to review the text, and Budapest fell into line. At the end of December, however, the licence of the country's only opposition radio station was withdrawn. (SP with CG and LC/transl.jl and rt)