Hungary censured by European Parliament’s education committee

Spending on public advertisements favours certain companies at the expense of others, while government spending on adverts tends to be directed towards government-dominated and “oligarch-controlled” media outlets, it said.

The committee also expressed concerns about the situation of freedom and diversity of the press, as well as the narrowing space for civil society organisations.

It also said forms of everyday discrimination against Roma were numerous and segregation of Roma children in schools was systemic.

Given the situation in higher education, discrimination against Roma, problems with press freedom and the situation of NGOs, there is a clear risk of serious violations of EU values, justifying the launch of Article 7 of the EU treaty, the committee said.

Andrea Bocskor, an MEP for ruling Fidesz, responded as saying that the committee’s critical remarks are unfounded and the assessment is politically biased.

“The members of the committee have completely disregarded objective facts and the actual situation; they have in fact decided in advance that Hungary must be punished and pillorised,” she said.

Bocskor said that “by threatening Hungary with a procedure under Article 7, the political left obviously wants to put pressure on the Hungarian government, force it to compromise on its policies, yield to the will of the Brussels mainstream and sacrifice the country on the altar of the ‘open society’ concept”.

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Source: MTI