The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the first time since 30 March, openly criticised the measures taken by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, to deal with COVID-19 and said she was "particularly concerned about the situation" in the country.
The President was speaking in the margins of a press conference on the SURE instrument (see other news), after an initial reaction on Tuesday 31 March, which was considered timid because it did not directly target Hungary.
On Thursday, the leader said she "understands" that Member States currently need to take emergency measures. "But I am concerned that some measures go too far", the president said, recalling that these measures must be "limited to what is necessary, must not last indefinitely and must be subject to regular monitoring”.
This more open criticism comes after 13 Member States spoke on 1 April and 16 on 2 April, citing the same message of concern and calling on the General Affairs Council to take up the issue when the time comes.
In a statement, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden stated that "in this unprecedented situation, it is legitimate for Member States to adopt extraordinary measures to protect their citizens and overcome the crisis. We are, however, deeply concerned about the risk of violation of the principles of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights arising from the adoption of certain emergency measures".
These "should be limited to what is strictly necessary, be proportionate and of a temporary nature, be subject to regular review and respect the above-mentioned principles and obligations of international law. They should not restrict freedom of expression or freedom of the press".
"We therefore support the European Commission's initiative to monitor the emergency measures and their application in order to ensure respect for the fundamental values of the Union and we invite the General Affairs Council to take up the matter if necessary”. At present, no meeting of the General Affairs Council is scheduled for April.
No debate on the Hungarian case in plenary on 16 April
In the European Parliament, it was agreed on 2 April in the Parliament’s Conference of Presidents not to organise a debate on the Hungarian case on 16 April, as the S&D Group, for example, wanted, but to entrust the President of the institution, David Sassoli, with the task of sending a letter to the Commission on this subject.
"I have been given a mandate to send a letter to the Commission asking how it intends to deal with the law adopted by the Hungarian Parliament and whether this does not constitute a serious violation of Article 2 of the Treaty, which speaks of our values based on democracy and freedom", the Italian explained.
There was no support for a debate at this plenary, several sources confirmed, but it could "be held at the May plenary", said a Parliamentary source.
For the time being, therefore, there will be a general resolution on the Covid-19 crisis, and some people are anticipating that groups might try to make amendments to it on the situation in Hungary.
Within the EPP Group in the Parliament, the Hungarian case could in any case also be discussed in the near future.
In the meantime, the day after Donald Tusk's letter (see EUROPE 12459/13), 13 EPP member parties sent a letter to their presidents asking again for the exclusion of Fidesz from the political family. These groups come mainly from Northern Europe and Benelux, but also from Norway, more or less the same groups that had already pleaded for the exclusion of Fidesz in early 2020.
Link to the declaration of the 14: http://bit.ly/2UDgbXq
Link to the letter to Donald Tusk: https://bit.ly/3dNz (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)