Brussels, 30/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 30 April, the European Commission issued a warning to the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, following the ideas he expressed on the death penalty on Tuesday 28 April. The Hungarian leader affirmed that “the question of the death penalty must be put back on the agenda in Hungary”. According to the latter, current legislation “is not sufficiently dissuasive”.
Following the indignation Orban's ideas provoked among MEPs, particularly within the EPP, his own political family, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the Commission, threatened to do battle with him on Thursday, if he maintained his wish to relaunch the debate on the death penalty in his country. During a press briefing, Jean-Claude Juncker stated: “The European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits the death penalty and Mr Orban should immediately and clearly say that this is not his intention and if it is his intention, there is going to be a battle”.
Under the terms of the rule of law mechanism, the Commission can launch a preventive procedure against a member state if it puts forward legislation that is contrary to European values. This mechanism can, as a last resort, result in the activation of Article 7 of the Treaty, which includes the suspension of voting rights at the Council of the EU. (Solenn Paulic)