MEPs will have a plenary debate on Wednesday 13 May on the state of the rule of law in Hungary, but there will be no specific resolution on the subject. This is what the European Parliament Conference of Presidents decided on the morning of Tuesday 5 May, when the EPP and Renew Europe groups in particular refused a new resolution on the subject.
This plenary debate on Hungary and its emergency measures to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic had already been requested for the April plenary, but the choice was made to hold a general debate on the Covid-19 crisis with a resolution and amendments on the Hungarian and Polish cases to follow (see EUROPE 12460/20, EUROPE 12468/4).
This request for a debate and resolution was made in particular by the Greens/EFA group and by the rapporteur on the rule of law in Hungary and the Article 7 procedure, the French MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield.
At a briefing on Tuesday morning, the MEP reiterated the concerns raised by the Hungarian emergency law, which gives full powers to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and declared her disagreement with the European Commission's recent assessment that the Hungarian emergency law would not - at this stage - violate EU law and therefore would not justify launching an infringement proceeding.
The MEP considered that the Commission's legal services may have been too "timid" and "conservative". According to her, the issue is being discussed among researchers and professionals, some of whom believe that grounds for launching an infringement procedure may, on the contrary, exist.
As a result the MEP indicated that she was looking at an event where these different voices could be heard.
In the meantime, the EU Council has not yet planned to resume its work on the so-called Article 7 procedure, due to the practical difficulties caused by the pandemic. The MEP said she had spoken to German State Secretary for European Affairs Michael Roth about the issue and expects work to resume under the German EU Council Presidency, which starts on 1 July. According to Ms Delbos-Corfield, the German minister is planning, amongst other things, further hearings with Hungary.
When contacted, the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU indicated that at this stage no new meeting on the rule of law in the framework of the General Affairs Council is planned. A new videoconference of European Affairs Ministers could take place in mid-May, but its timing and agenda remain to be confirmed.
According to the Croatian Presidency, this timetable could be clarified at the end of this week. The Ministers of the General Affairs Council met on 22 April and discussed the rule of law, but in a general way and without going into the details of the Article 7 procedures concerning Hungary and Poland. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)