Sophie Wilmes, the Vice-President of the European Parliament, highlighted the significance of the changes under way in Hungary since the election, at a press conference in Budapest on Wednesday.
Wilmes is leading a delegation from the EP’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), which visited Budapest to review developments since the April election.
She noted that the committee had visited Hungary last year and found the situation concerning in terms of judicial independence, media freedom, civil society and fundamental rights, as well as noting a weakening of democracy. At the time, she said, the delegation had believed the situation was deteriorating steadily and the government had been unwilling to address the problems.
She added that the delegation had also felt it was received in Budapest with hostility.
Wilmes said that a year and a half later, the situation appeared to have changed since the spring election, noting that the ruling Tisza Party had made major commitments during its campaign, promising voters sweeping changes to restore the rule of law and protect democratic values if it came to power.
She noted that the LIBE delegation was in Budapest to assess what had changed since the election, what challenges the new government faced, and how the European Union could better support its efforts to restore the rule of law.
During their three-day visit, the delegation met representatives of the media, civil society and human rights organisations, academia and the judiciary. On Wednesday morning, they also met representatives of the Hungarian government and the president, as well as politicians from various parties, including those that had failed to win seats in parliament.
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The delegation’s overall impression, Wilmes said, was that the political climate had changed and significant reforms were under way. The developments were very encouraging, she said, adding, however, that some concerns remained, including restrictions on MPs’ terms of office.
She noted that the government planned to introduce a new electoral law, expressing hope that it would strengthen political pluralism and adding that a two-thirds parliamentary majority should be the exception rather than the norm.
Other key priorities included tackling corruption and strengthening media freedom and civil society, Wilmes said.
Wilmes cautioned, however, that restoring the rule of law could not happen overnight. Electing a party with a large majority on a promise to restore the rule of law was not enough, she said, arguing that the new government should also be clearly committed to doing so.
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