The Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova, has “the total confidence” of Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, said Dana Spinant, a spokesperson for the institution, on Tuesday 29 September. This was in response to a letter from the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, that had been sent the same morning and which called for the Vice-President's resignation.
The controversy erupted the day before the presentation of the first annual report, on 30 September, over the status of the Rule of law in the EU-27. In his letter, the Hungarian leader attacked the Vice-President who, in an interview with Der Spiegel last week, had described Hungary as a “sick democracy”. Viktor Orbán “would like to say that he is building an illiberal democracy. I would say that he is building a sick democracy”, she commented.
According to the Hungarian leader, this was an “insult” to not only the Hungarian people, but also to European citizens living in Hungary; he also said that it “contradicted the role of the European Commission as a neutral and objective institution as enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty”.
The resignation of Vera Jourova is therefore “vital”, Mr Orbán said, while also announcing the suspension of all bilateral contact with the Vice-President of the Commission.
“Our door remains open”, Dana Spinant replied, while also refusing to comment further on Hungary's decision to stop speaking with Ms Jourova. “The problems linked to the Rule of law in Hungary are well known”, the spokesperson added, and “they will form part of the report to be presented” on Wednesday.
This report will take stock of the status of the Rule of law in the EU-27. It will review the issue of judicial independence, media pluralism, the fight against corruption, and the overall situation regarding checks and balances.
A first round of discussions is scheduled to take place at the next ‘General Affairs’ Council on 13 October. The situation in five countries — the Czech Republic, Estonia, Denmark, Bulgaria, and Belgium — will be looked at during this first ministerial meeting.
Counter-expertise
Hungary and Poland announced on Monday that they wanted to set up a joint institute to assess the Rule of law in all EU countries so that following allegations they had violated the Rule of law, they would not be “taken for fools”, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó during a visit to Poland. “The objective of this institute of comparative law is to make sure we are not taken for fools”, he said, as quoted by Reuters.
The institute will, in its turn, therefore examine how the Rule of law is respected in the EU so that we can ensure double standards are not being applied to Hungary and Poland.
Link to Mr Orbán's letter: https://bit.ly/30l95to (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)