On Monday 16 September, the Ministers and Representatives of Ministers for European Affairs of the Twenty-Seven heard for the first time the Hungarian government on the problems relating to respect for the rule of law, which were identified by the European Parliament in September 2018 when Article 7 was triggered. Indeed, the Hungarian government had to explain itself on various problems ranging from freedom of the media, to the treatment of NGOs, to corruption in the country.
Arriving in Brussels, Hungarian Minister for European Affairs Judit Varga said she was there “to defend Hungary” and that she expected the other Member States to prove that this hearing was not a “political” exercise, while Budapest believes that the Parliament report is guided by the “pro-migration forces”.
But the exercise lasted about 2 hours, according to one source, and was therefore shorter than expected. The Minister was accompanied by the Ambassador to the EU and another diplomat, who were also able to respond on her behalf. Hungary “played along”, said another source, referring to a proper tone between delegations, but nevertheless “firm”.
On several issues, Budapest has in any case refuted Parliament's position, continues this source, as well as on media concentration, with 80% of media titles reportedly in the hands of relatives of Viktor Orbán. On this point, the Minister considered that these figures were false and that the sector was owned by many private operators. On the subject of freedom of the press, the minister considered that her country was in full compliance with European standards. On corruption, the high level of private sector investment in the country shows, on the contrary, a climate of confidence.
10 member countries – France, Germany, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg and Italy – spoke out on issues ranging from academic freedom, to the treatment of migrants and, on several occasions, to the use of European funds and corruption.
At the end of the meeting, Frans Timmermans, the first Vice-President of the Commission, requested that further hearings on specific topics covered by Parliament report be organised, possibly by inviting external organisations. While France and Germany supported the idea of continuing the hearings, it was not taken up by the other Member States.
At the end of this financial year, the Finnish Presidency did not give any indication as to how to proceed or whether a further hearing could be held in 2019. This is something that will have to be defined in “the coming weeks or months”, commented Minister Tytti Tuppurainen, who will now report to Parliament and ambassadors for further discussion. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)