Brussels, 16/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on 16 February, the S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL Groups of the European Parliament managed to have their draft resolution condemning recent political developments in Hungary adopted. These developments concern the law on the media, judicial reform and the Hungarian National Bank, which are being closely monitored by Commission procedures. More generally, they are also denouncing a context of attacks on the foundations of democracy.
In this text, which was adopted by 315 votes to 263 (49 abstentions), the MEPs also managed to refer to the infamous Article 7 of the Treaty, which provides a sanction mechanism against a member state in the event that serious violations of European principles occur. On the part of the European Commission, this option is still not under consideration at this stage, but the MEPs want to keep the pressure on: the committee on civil liberties (LIBE) will be tasked with drafting a report verifying that Hungary is in compliance with European laws and principles, the Parliament has decided. On the basis of this report, the conference of the president of the EP will consider activating Article 7 if it should prove that the conditions to do so have been met, for example if the report notes a “clear risk” of violation of the common values. Under the procedure, the European Parliament and Commission may propose to the Council to activate Article 7, but the final decision to open proceedings is the Council's alone. Neelie Kroes already threatened this step last week at a hearing of the LIBE committee, referring to an “appropriate” response of the Commission if all current studies, including those of the Brussels-based executive and the Council of Europe, should conclude that the laws and values of the EU are being violated by Budapest. However, the commissioner's spokesperson said that a discussion to this effect was not currently taking place within the Commission. Over at the EP, it has also been stressed that this request for activation is not yet on the agenda and that only the results of the report of the LIBE committee will put it there.
In the meantime, the hemicycle in Strasbourg has taken position on a resolution on the situation in Hungary for the second time in less than a year. Last March, MEPs condemned the law on the media (which they were unable to do in 2009 regarding Italy, due to a lack of a majority). MEPs had already voiced their concerns regarding the “excesses” of the Orban government. In Strasbourg on Thursday, MEPs once again put their fears on record, but this time exhaustively, with the EP questioning the “exercise of democracy, the rule of law, the protection of human and social rights, the system of checks and balances, and equality and non-discrimination” in the country.
In their resolution, the MEPs called on the Commission to “monitor closely any amendments to and the enforcement of the Hungarian legislation, as well as its compliance with the letter and spirit of the EU treaties” and to carry out a thorough study on all potentially problematic issues, such as the independence of the judiciary, the independence of the Hungarian National Bank, the data protection authority and “media freedom and pluralism”, the new electoral law, which must respect the principle of political alternation, the right to exercise political opposition and, finally, the law on churches and religious denominations, which must refrain from “subjecting the registration of churches to the approval of two-thirds majority in the Hungarian Parliament”, the MEPs state.
On the first three dossiers, Budapest has already been called upon to answer questions, as the Commission opened infringement proceedings on 17 January of this year regarding the national bank, data protection authority and retirement age for judges, giving it one month to reply. The Commission has also written to Budapest regarding the general state of the independence of the judiciary and the media law. As of 16 February, the Commission had not yet received any explanations from the Orban government, but will hear from it by this Friday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a group of Hungarian media representatives on Thursday. In recent days, a number of members of Fidesz have explained that Budapest would not in any case be able to follow all the recommendations of the Commission, particularly as regards salary-capping on members of the national bank. On Wednesday, however, a Commission spokesperson stated that the executive would not settle for cosmetic changes and that the Commission, as promised, would be taking a very close look at all details of the laws and proposed amendments, and their strict compliance with European laws.
This timing in Strasbourg, with a resolution even before Budapest has formally explained itself, went down very badly with the EPP, which incidentally failed to get its own resolutions through on Thursday, condemning the actions and statements of opposing political groups. The Hungarian MEP Kinga Gal spoke out once again against “a sentence before the trial has ended” and criticised the MEPs' haste, stating that all they are doing is “condemning the government” of Orban rather than its actual actions. (SP/transl.fl)