The European Affairs Ministers will hear Hungary on Monday 23 May under the so-called ‘Article 7’ procedure of the Treaty on the Rule of law. They will debate the outcome of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Hungary. The EU27 ministers for European affairs will hear Hungary for the fourth time on the so-called Article 7 procedure of the Treaty for violations of the Rule of law.
The hearing will examine all the aspects addressed in the European Parliament’s report that had triggered the procedure at the end of 2018, which is much broader than the points raised by the European Commission against Poland.
The last specific hearing for Hungary took place in June 2021, followed by a hearing for both countries in December 2021 (see EUROPE 12746/1, 12853/21).
In Hungary, “the deterioration has been constant”, a diplomatic source stressed on 20 May, citing laws against LGBTIQ+ people and prosecutions of civil society organisations. “Things have not improved at all”, said another source.
However, the EU Council does not intend to vote on a clear risk of violation of European values, which would require 21 Member States to obtain a majority.
“There is no appetite on the part of Member States to move to a vote and recommendations”, another diplomatic source said on 19 May.
Nevertheless, the procedure remains interesting in the eyes of several delegations, as the hearings make it possible “to maintain political pressure and demands”.
These hearings and the Article 7 procedure also remain very “important for Hungarian citizens”, who may interpret it as a sign of solidarity with them, one of our sources says.
CoFoE. At lunch and then at the session, the ministers will debate the results of the Conference on the Future of Europe, 2 weeks after the feedback event on 9 May, during which the proposals of European citizens were transmitted to the three co-chairs of the Conference (see EUROPE 12948/1).
According to a European source, the sequence of events in the EU Council is as follows: - On Monday, the European Commission will draw the first lessons from the Conference and discuss the measures; - analyse, by early June, all proposals and categorise them according to their institutional implications (treaty change needed?); - schedule a debate in the ‘GAC’ Council in June and possibly in the European Council.
Responding to a call for caution from 13 EU countries on the follow-up to the conference (see EUROPE 12948/1), six other Member States - Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain - say the war in Ukraine should not distract from the goal of strengthening the EU’s capacity to act and its fundamental values, in a paper on Friday 13 May. They call for a detailed analysis and categorisation of the Conference’s proposals.
It is “crucial” to demonstrate to the citizens involved that their proposals are being considered and that those with “a majority” are being implemented, say these countries, saying they are “open, as a matter of principle, to jointly defined treaty changes, if necessary”.
See the six countries’ document: https://aeur.eu/f/1r3
On Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there was “no taboo” on an institutional review of the EU, warning also against “time-consuming navel-gazing”.
European Council. The ministers will discuss the agenda of the extraordinary European Council on Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 May in Brussels.
The EU’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be on the agenda of the EU Summit, including recent proposals for short- and medium-term macroeconomic assistance to Kyiv (see EUROPE 12955/2), the REPowerEU strategy to reduce dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, (see EUROPE 12955/4) and the increase in European defence capabilities (see EUROPE 12955/1).
See the draft conclusions of the European Council dated Thursday 19 May: https://aeur.eu/f/1qz
European democracy. However, contrary to what the French Presidency of the EU Council had hoped for a few weeks ago, the proposal for a regulation imposing more transparency on online political advertising (see EUROPE 12952/15) is not on the agenda of the General Affairs Council.
In March, the Council reached political agreement on a related text revising the statute for European political parties (see EUROPE 12916/23). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Mathieu Bion)