Brussels, 30/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 30 November, the European Commission registered a European citizens' initiative (ECI) calling on it to propose triggering Article 7 of the Treaty against Hungary for alleged breaches of fundamental values, the Commission has said in a press release.
Registration of the ECI starts a one-year process of collection of signatures in support of the initiative. In its press release, the Commission states that its decision relates only to the legal admissibility of the registration request. This request falls within the framework of the Commission's powers and the proposed action is manifestly not abusive, the Commission says. The College of Commissioners discussed the ECI on 24 November but has yet to analyse the substance of the initiative, the Commission said on Monday 30 November.
“Since its coming to power in 2010, the government of Viktor Orban has brought in successive measures that are anti-democratic, xenophobic and contrary to the founding principles of the rule of law. By its nature, this situation will undermine the EU project, as defined in Article 2 of the TEU. Furthermore, the unacceptable treatment of migrants by the Hungarian authorities gives rise to fears that this kind of action will spread to other member states whose democratic culture is recent and fragile”, state the organisers of the ECI, who include French lawyers.
Under the rules in force, if the ECI gathers one million signatures from seven different member states, the Commission must respond within three months. Activation of Article 7 of the Treaty can lead to the suspension of a country's voting rights. It has long been sought against Hungary by some within the European Parliament, in particular the ALDE Group which, in October, called in vain for its partners to work with it to trigger this procedure.
Instead, MEPs will, on Wednesday, discuss the fundamental rights situation in Hungary in plenary session, with questions being put to the Commission on this issue. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)