Foreign ministry: Dutch foreign minister ‘attacked Hungary’ in interview

The Dutch foreign minister has “attacked Hungary” in an interview, Tamás Menczer, the foreign ministry state secretary for bilateral relations said on Tuesday.

Menczer said on Facebook that Wopke Hoekstra had relied on “the European Parliament’s lies” and expressed concern about the state of the rule of law in Hungary, saying that the rule of law and Europe’s shared values were in danger, and said the plight of the judiciary and the free press in Hungary were “awful”.

Menczer said in response that the state of the rule of law in the Netherlands itself gave cause for concern. The country has seen hundreds of anti-Semitic crimes each year since 2019, some 80 percent of journalists “receive threats”, and the state secretary for migration had to resign after concealing grave crimes committed by migrants, he said.

It would be reasonable for the European Parliament to call a meeting immediately and have a report prepared about the state of the rule of law in the Netherlands, he said.

It would also be reasonable that the Dutch foreign minister should deal with Hungary only after restoring order in his own country, he added.

Read alsoOfficial: Hungary is not a democratic country, Fidesz disgruntled

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3 Comments

mariavontheresa says:

20/09/2022 at 22:22

Truth cannot be expected from the Dutch government. Hating Hungary and Hungarians is the Dutch national sport. Hungary should send the new ambassador home and not have diplomatic relations with such country. Since all the Dutch citizens, who spend their summers in Hungary, do not speak against this national hate, bar them form have cheap holidays at Hungary’s expense.
Norbert says:

22/09/2022 at 19:01

@mariavontheresa don’t know when you were last in Hungary, but it’s now cheaper to holiday in Italy, Spain or Greece than it is, here!
Johan says:

22/09/2022 at 19:34

Tamás Menczer has a good memory: it was in 2019 that then State Secretary for Asylum and Migration had to resign after taking responsibility for misrepresenting crime figures (which he was warned by civil servants could be misleading and in their view be presented more prominently). No ill will or intention to mislead – which appears to be the insinuation. And 2019 – would be surprising if this has not been actioned.

I could not find the antisemitic crimes. In 2021, there were 183 documented incidents in a country with population size 17 million and a very easy way of reporting incidents: https://www.cidi.nl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CIDI-Monitor-Antisemitic-Incidents-summary.pdf

Lastly regarding threats to journalists. This appears to be mainly from the far right and far left of the political spectrum. https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/plenaire_verslagen/kamer_in_het_kort/debat-over-agressie-tegen-en-bedreiging-van . With respect to the “extreme right wing”, aren’t these the parties Fidesz currently identifies with most, in Europe?