A majority of MEPs called on the EU Council on Wednesday 30 January to take seriously the situation of fundamental rights and the rule of law in Hungary, against which they opened an Article 7 procedure last September (see EUROPE 12094).
In the absence of Hungarian government representatives, this debate, launched by the Greens/EFA group in December (see EUROPE 12164), was an opportunity for these MEPs to point out the deterioration of the judicial, particularly the political situation in the country with a “Putinisation of power”, as described by socialist MEPs, not only Hungarian, but also Austrian and Spanish. Austrian Josef Weidenholzer regretted in particular that Hungary had not reacted adequately after this warning in September, nor had the Council, which was “disappointing” in not yet taking a “serious decision”.
European Parliament rapporteur Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA, Netherlands), who initiated the opening of Article 7, also said the situation in the country had worsened since September and criticised the fact that Hungary, by flooding the Council with documents, was trying to save time and delay the institution's work. At a Greens/EFA reception on Wednesday 30 January, she also explained to EUROPE her doubts about the Romanian Presidency's intentions and her desire to move this dossier forward. Not surprised the Hungarian government did not want to take part in this debate, she said she was the subject of almost daily attacks and false news in the Hungarian media, some of them associating her with George Soros, whom she had “never met”.
This Hungarian anti-Soros and anti-immigration rhetoric was vehemently conveyed by the Hungarian EPP member Tamás Deutsch, who considered that this campaign against Hungary was purely electoral and led by “the left-wing majority who want war against Hungary” and supports “immigration”. This majority does not want Hungary to be able to act independently, he added, and wants it to be “impossible to protect its borders”. The choice of speaker, the Hungarian representative having spoken first on behalf of the EPP Group, surprised the Dutch Member.
But other EPP members, such as Germany's Inge Grässle, have raised concerns, particularly about the fraudulent use of European funds by relatives of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The first vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, for his part, once again presented the list of offences against the country, which had been extended just last week with new reasoned opinions relating to migration laws. He also indicated that the Commission had asked Budapest for clarification on the conformity of the new Working Time Act with European directives. The new reform on administrative tribunals is also being closely monitored. The first Vice-President finally considered that the Council had “all the elements in hand to make an assessment” and also regretted that Parliament had not really been able to express its views to the Council on its report on Article 7.
The Romanian Presidency of the Council, represented by Minister Melania Ciot, assured that it took Parliament's opinion very seriously, but did not give any guidance on the follow-up to the General Affairs Council, where regular discussions on the rule of law were held in 2018 in Poland, but also in Hungary. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)