The European Parliament, through a delegation of seven MEPs representing the Parliament’s political groups, visited Hungary for a three-day mission to assess the situation of the rule of law (see EUROPE 12781/2).
“We had discussions with at least 85 people and we received information which suggests to the majority of the delegation that the situation regarding the rule of law has worsened in Hungary”, announced the head of the delegation, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA, France), at the end of the mission on Friday 1 October.
The MEP stressed that the discussions had been “interesting” in most cases, but pointed out that the discussions had been much more complex with the members from the Court of Justice and the Constitutional Court.
“On two occasions we were threatened with contempt of court. It was very theoretical, but it’s quite a good indicator of how complicated the discussions were. We encountered refusal to answer our questions. There was a clear hostility”, Delbos-Corfield said, adding that she was surprised that the discussions in these institutions were recorded.
“We have nothing to hide, but surveillance is a concept we are not used to when it comes to democracy”, she added.
When asked about this, the head of the parliamentary delegation noted that the reasons for the European Parliament’s decision to make the move have existed since “at least 2018”.
“The reforms of the judiciary have not put its independence back on track and the state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed the government to take political decisions that have nothing to do with health, but more with education or culture”, said the French Green party MEP. She also stressed that the Pegasus case is still “traumatic” for some European players (see EUROPE 12765/8).
Remaining discreet on the subject, Ms Delbos-Corfield also noted that the elected members of the ECR and Identity and Democracy groups had left the meetings on several occasions. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)