The EU’s European Affairs Ministers held, on Friday 18 November, a fifth hearing of Hungary under the 'Article 7' procedure on the Rule of law.
While the debate was “calmer”, in the words of Czech Minister Mikuláš Bek, Member States continued to express concerns, notably on media freedom, academic freedom and the right to strike, with countries such as France and Germany having raised precisely these points.
The hearing focused on the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, media pluralism and the safety of journalists, but also on the execution of the Court of Justice of the EU’s rulings or the rights of LGBTI persons. “Most Member States have noted the efforts announced by Hungary, especially in the fight against corruption”, a source said. They now want to ensure that these announcements are implemented.
The hearing fell under the scope of Hungary’s remedial measures that it has to implement under the EU budget conditionality and reforms, in particular judicial ones, under the European Recovery Plan.
The Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said at the end of the meeting that while exchanges with Hungary were progressing, “new concerns”had emerged since the last hearing in May (see EUROPE 12958/5).
The Commissioner thus pointed again to the problems of independence of the judiciary, with illegal appointments to the Supreme Court or smear campaigns against judges who, for example, met with the US ambassador to Hungary, the Commissioner said.
The National Media Council also continues to be composed of Hungarian government appointees. The “channels of communication” remain open with Budapest, added the Commissioner, whose institution will say, on Tuesday 22 November, whether Hungary has met the requirements of the conditionality regulation.
Hungary can be a ‘model’
The Hungarian Minister of Justice, Judit Varga, for her part, welcomed the quality of the exchanges with the Commission, which were both “objective” and “professional”.
The transparency shown by the Hungarian government in this matter can also “serve as a model for the Member States”, she added on Friday morning.
The various remedial measures implemented by Budapest include an ‘Integrity Authority’ to intervene in all cases where the competent authorities have not taken the necessary measures to prevent, detect and correct fraud, conflicts of interest, corruption and other irregularities that have or may have an effect on the implementation of EU financial support.
The Criminal Procedure Code was also amended to establish a procedure for special criminal offences related to the exercise of public authority and the management of public property.
A central register for publishing information on public expenditure has also been launched. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)