On Wednesday 5 November, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties adopted by 51 votes to 21, with 2 abstentions, the second interim report on Hungary’s continuing violations of EU values since the Article 7 procedure was activated in 2018.
Drawn up by Tineke Strik (Greens/EFA, Dutch), the report denouncing a continuing deterioration in the rule of law in Hungary was approved by all members of the EPP, S&D, Greens/EFA, Renew Europe and The Left, with two abstentions from the EPP.
In this report, the elected representatives reiterate their concerns about the independence of the judiciary, media freedom, freedom of association, attacks on civil society and LGBTIQ+ people, and the lack of integrity in the management of European funds. Above all, they are expressing their anger at the inaction of the Commission and the Council of the EU.
They are therefore urging the Council of the EU to impose sanctions and the Commission to explore new legal options for punishing Budapest.
The report stresses that “the situation, which threatens the entirety of the Union’s values and its legal order, has continued to deteriorate” and notes that the EU Council’s inaction has contributed to this. “Hungary has become a ‘hybrid regime of electoral autocracy’”, say the MEPs.
They also point to the recent opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Tamara Ćapeta, confirming that proceedings for breach of EU law can be brought “where the negation of a value is the root cause of other breaches of EU law” and urge the Commission to seize this opportunity, should the Court confirm this reasoning, says European Parliament press release.
The report also condemns “Hungary’s repeated use of its Council veto as leverage, as well as its transactional use of budgetary instruments and the existence of loopholes potentially allowing it to circumvent Conditionality Regulation restrictions”. He also refers to the Commission’s investigation into allegations of spying by Hungary within the EU institutions.
As Tineke Strik told journalists on 4 November, the Greens/EFA are calling for a parliamentary committee of inquiry into these events, but the group does not have the support of the other political families.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/jaw (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)