Brussels, 14/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - “Everything Hungary is doing is in line with European principles”, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, adding that “if there is a problem with that, we are prepared to discuss the matter”. Two years after triggering “hostilities” between the Commission and Hungary over a series of problematical laws, including on the media, Orban was called upon to justify himself in Brussels on Thursday regarding recent changes made to the Hungarian constitution, which is again criticised by the country's international partners, with the Council of Europe to the fore. Adopting the same posture as in 2011 and 2012, Orban once more accused those same partners of not having truly understood the essence of the amendments, saying he was ready to lay the cards on the table. Explaining that the amendments had already been anticipated one year ago and were even the result of a decision by the constitutional court, Orban assured the international press that the constitutional court would continue to be the guardian of the constitution and that the Hungarian parliament, in its vote on Monday 11 March, had under no circumstances adopted a law restricting the Court's margin of interpretation. That, however, is what observers fear, whether those observers be the Council of Europe, Hungarian NGOs or US NGOs, which also expressed concern about events in Hungary. One of the amendments voted would abolish the possibility of references to rulings by the supreme Hungarian court prior to 2012, a fear that Orban swept aside. He gave his assurance that nearly 95% of what had been adopted had already been the subject of an analysis by the EU. Somewhat annoyed, the strongman of Hungary said he could not, therefore, accept criticism at this point in time, deploring the fact that his partners blame him first and then speak of the facts afterwards. Orban also slammed the Council of Europe's request to postpone the parliament's vote. He said, displaying irritation, that “we have spoken of those amendments for three weeks and it is three days before the vote that we are now asked not to vote”.
In Berlin, Commissioner Viviane Reding put the tone up a notch, Reuters reports, warning Hungary against possible suspension of its European funds. The Commission will be analysing the amendments in the light of Article 7, she said, adding that a constitution is not a toy that can be amended every six months. Reding also explained that she had the impression that democracy in Hungary was in danger. (SP/transl.jl)