Brussels, 24/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will be announcing on Wednesday 25 April 2012 what it has decided to do about the infringement proceedings launched against Hungary because of recent attacks on the independence of the country's central bank. The Commission has sent a warning letter to Budapest about changes to the retirement age of judges and data protection rules, along with the changes to the central bank system.
On Tuesday 24 April, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met in Brussels to discuss the central bank questions, talks that a spokesperson for Barroso said had been constructive. The Commission said it was happy with the very clear promise by Orban to respect the Commission's demands for central bank independence, and a source says that agreement was reached. Any agreement is likely to mean that the Commission will not pursue the infringement proceedings on the central bank issue any further and the talks on financial aid from the EU and IMF of between €15 billion and €20 billion will be able to get off the ground in the near future. The EU College of Commissioners will need to confirm the central bank agreement on Wednesday, if indeed an agreement has been reached, along with deciding on the other Hungarian problems - the next stage would be to send the country to the European Court of Justice over the retirement age of judges and the data protection authority. Other problems with Hungary include the independence, or lack of independence, of the country's legal system and new laws on religion and the holding of religious ceremonies. (SP/transl.fl)