European Parliament committee releases draft report criticising Hungary rule of law

The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee has released a draft report criticising the state of the rule of law in Hungary.

Last spring, the EP’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) was asked to prepare a report on Hungary with a view to holding an EP vote on launching the first steps of Article 7, which suspends voting rights.

Presenting the report in a session of the committee in Brussels on Thursday, Green MEP Judith Sargentini said there was a “clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values of the European Union”, which she said warranted launching the Article 7 procedure.

Sargentini said the Hungarian government had curbed the powers of Hungary’s Constitutional Court and judicial independence and launched attacks against civil society.

The state of press freedom and freedom of expression have also deteriorated, she said.

She said the report was not about the situation of asylum seekers in Hungary but rather about the fundamental rights of Hungarians and how the state treats its own citizens. Given the situation in Hungary, the EU has a duty to act, she added. “The time for warnings has passed.”

Roberta Metsola of the European People’s Party (EPP) said the report was not aimed as an attack against Hungary, emphasising that it would be wrong to “try to draw political capital” from it. She added, at the same time, that there were several points in the document that, in the EPP’s opinion, “would not … seem to fit with the ultimate aim of this report”.

Social Democrat MEP Ana Gomes said the situation in Hungary was “worrying”, adding that it had deteriorated significantly over the past few years. “There is a systemic threat to democracy and the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary,” Gomes said. She also highlighted minority rights, the right to the freedom of assembly, academic freedom, corruption and the rights of asylum seekers as problematic areas.

Marek Jurek of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group said the Hungarian government had been subjected to “baseless accusations”.

“Every country has a right to protect its sovereignty,” he said, adding that Hungary “is only being attacked over its cultural differences”.

Liberal MEP Sophia in’t Veld said in reaction to Jurek that although cultural differences should be respected, so should the EU’s fundamental values. She accused the Hungarian government of pursuing a “disgusting hate campaign” and said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posed a threat to the EU’s integrity. If Hungary were a candidate country today, it would not be admitted into the bloc, she insisted.

Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál said: “The reason why they’re smearing Hungary is because it won’t fall in line, but instead stands up to the mandatory resettlement of migrants.” She said the discussion about the situation in Hungary was “completely devoid of objectivity”. Gál said the potential Article 7 procedure against Hungary “looks like a pre-arranged show trial that will end with a pre-determined political verdict”.

Socialist Party MEP István Újhelyi said he was “deeply embarrassed” and regretted that “Hungarian politics has put the country into this situation here in front of our European community and European allies”.

Independent Hungarian MEP Krisztina Morvai, formerly a member of the radical nationalist Jobbik party, said the “attacks” against Hungary had united the country against “impertinence”. Hungary’s recent election showed that whereas the country had been “hugely outnumbered, it managed to defeat the will of the EU and [US financier George] Soros’s armies”, she said.

MEPs have until May 15 to submit amendment proposals to the draft report.

LIBE is expected to submit the document to the EP in June, which the legislative body is expected to vote on in the autumn.

Source: MTI