The EU’s European Affairs Ministers have noted some “steps in the right direction” with regard to the Rule of law in Hungary and the reforms requested under the Article 7 procedure, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič reported on 15 November.
But the country continues to give rise to a series of “concerns” and the Article 7 procedure cannot be closed until all the concerns have been resolved, he explained.
During this exchange, the Commission cited progress on the judicial system and the fight against corruption.
The European Ministers questioned the government on the appointment of judges, the right to put preliminary questions to the Court of Justice, measures relating to the state of emergency regime and migration, all areas identified by the European Parliament in 2018 when it opened this procedure.
Recent legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people was also cited as a cause for concern by several delegations. France and Germany jointly communicated, as did the Benelux countries.
It was agreed to continue the debates, even though the next discussions on Article 7 will continue under the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council.
With regard to Poland, which was also the subject of a shorter review, the Vice-President expressed the Ministers’ hope that the forthcoming government, possibly led by Donald Tusk, would take the necessary measures to address the various concerns, for example those relating to the independence of the judiciary with the role of the Supreme Court or the fact that the new disciplinary system for judges, although reformed, has not yet been implemented. Poland was represented by its permanent ambassador.
Questioned on the subject, the Spanish State Secretary for the European Union, Pascual Ignacio Navarro Rios, assured that no Member State had mentioned the Spanish law on amnesty for separatists. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)