Brussels, 26/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Council of Europe has beaten the European Commission to it in its recommendation on Thursday 25 April that a “monitoring procedure” for Hungary be opened. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's monitoring committee made the recommendation, a press release states, in view of its great concern about the erosion of democratic balance between the different powers in the new constitutional set-up.
In an opinion issued by the monitoring committee (the Venice Committee will also be discussing the changes made on 11 March to the Hungarian constitution), it points out deep and extreme concerns about whether Hungary is meeting the obligations it contracted when it joined the Council of Europe, namely the highest democratic standards, human rights and respect for the pre-eminence of law. The press release goes to explain that the recommendation will need to be approved by the Assembly's Bureau, which will be examining it at its next sitting and will probably vote at the end of June.
The monitoring committee says the Hungarian constitution and laws connected with it have been changed hastily and without transparency and are, therefore, not based on a consensus among the widest possible forces on the political spectrum of Hungarian society. It says that the coalition government in power in Hungary has used its two-thirds majority in parliament to overrule decisions by the constitutional court and that the constant rash of changes to the constitution in the name of party interests damages the stability needed for the constitutional framework.
On Friday morning, the European Commission refused to endorse the extreme accusations made by the Council of Europe, but said the two bodies were working hand-in-hand. A Commission spokesperson, Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, refused to make any further comment and Commissioner Viviane Reding has already promised infringement proceedings against Hungary, describing such a course of action as “highly likely” when she spoke at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Hungary reacted strongly, issuing a press release querying the legality of the Council of Europe recommendation and the voting procedure to validate it. The Hungarian government also criticised the fact that the recommendations been made before the Hungarian parliament finishes its discussion on the fourth revision of the constitution. The Council of Europe's monitoring procedure can lead to penalties, going as far as suspending Hungary's representation within the Council of Europe. (SP/transl.fl)