The Hungarian law on the state of emergency in response to COVID-19, which was approved on 30 March by the Hungarian Parliament by 137 votes to 53, is a source of concern for NGOs, the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee.
EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders announced immediately thereafter on Twitter that the institution is examining “emergency measures taken by Member States with regard to fundamental rights. This is particularly relevant to the law passed today in Hungary on the state of emergency and new criminal sanctions for the dissemination of false information”.
This law, which has been the subject of several letters between the Council of Europe and the Budapest government, criminalises the dissemination of information described as fake news by the government that is likely to create panic and makes it punishable by a prison sentence of up to 5 years.
Broadly speaking, it gives the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, the power to govern by decree for an unlimited period of time. The assembly is suspended, and the violation of quarantine rules can lead to prison sentences of up to 8 years, according to Hungarian media. Nor will there be any elections or referendums during this period.
Government spokesman Lazslo Kovacs said on Twitter that the emergency regime is not “unlimited because Parliament can suspend it” and that the situation will only last “as long as the crisis” engendered by the coronavirus.
He was responding to comments that Hungary is becoming a dictatorship, now there is no counter-power against Viktor Orbán. The European Commission repeated several times last week that it is assessing the situation very closely.
The Greens/EFA group in Parliament considers this step “dangerous” and called on the Commission to act. Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, for his part, called on the Twenty-six to react firmly or to exclude Hungary from the EU immediately. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)