Hungarian Justice Minister: Brussels endangers rule of law

The European Commission is “jeopardising” the rule of law by invoking Article 7 against Poland over its judiciary reforms, Justice Minister László Trócsányi said in an interview in the Austrian daily Die Presse on Tuesday.

“If a significant legal procedure is misused to replace the essence of the rule of law with legal and political argumentation, the principle itself will be emptied of its purpose rather than strengthened,” Trócsányi said, citing the procedure that can lead to a suspension of the country’s voting rights within the EU.

The Lisbon Treaty identifies the rule of law as a basic principle “but does not define it”, Trócsányi said.

The issue contested in Poland‘s case, “the structure of the judiciary system and the Constitutional Court falls within the member states’ competence”, he said. “It would be disquieting indeed if the Council of the European Union started to decide on such issues,” he added.

The same goes for the infringement procedures against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, launched last summer because the three countries refused to accept the mandatory refugee resettlement scheme, he said.

It is common knowledge that hardly any country has fully complied with the scheme. In this light, it is incomprehensible why these three states have been singled out, Trócsányi said.

featured image: MTI

Source: MTI