Council of Europe’s Venice Commission

Foriegn minister calls on Council of Europe to take issue of protecting European minorities seriously

Foreign Minister Strasbourg

Hungary calls on the Council of Europe to take the issue of protecting European minorities seriously, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Strasbourg on Monday.

Speaking by phone to MTI during a two-day conference on the protection of minorities and regional and minority languages, Szijjártó said the various European institutions paid for by European taxpayers were more concerned about illegal migrants than national minorities that have dwelled in Europe for centuries.

“This is unacceptable,” he said.

He said it was wrong for a European institution to concern itself with Hungary’s “Stop Soros” law aimed at ensuring the security of the Hungarian people rather than with the Hungarians of western Ukraine “whose rights are being seriously breached”, he added.

The conference is taking place to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

“One of Europe’s most important values is protecting minority rights and the Council of Europe should take this seriously,” Szijjártó said.

The minister said Transcarpathian Hungarians had been stripped of one of their minority rights, and although the CoE had supported Hungary verbally, none of the Venice Commission’s recommendations had been implemented by Ukraine. The law which deprives students of their right to study in their mother tongue is being implemented in the absence of any agreement between the Ukrainian government and Hungarian minority organisations, he said.

“It just can’t be true that some European countries who are members of the Council of Europe are ignoring the opinion of the Venice Commission and trampling over minority rights,” he said. Hungary expects the Council of Europe to uphold proposals earlier made by the Venice Commission and urge Ukraine to withdraw measures that seriously undermine the rights of the Hungarian minority, he added.

Szijjártó vowed that the Hungarian government would continue to do everything to provide support in protection of the rights of national minorities.

The Venice Commission said in a statement to MTI that its president, Gianni Buquicchio, and Szijjártó discussed the implementation of the body’s opinion on the Ukrainian education law on secondary education as well as its standpoint on the “Stop Soros” bill.

At the meeting, Buquicchio requested that the Hungarian Parliament delay passage of the “Stop Soros” bill until Friday, when the Venice Commission officially publishes its opinion on the bill. At the very least, the recommendations made in the draft opinion already sent to the Hungarian authorities should be taken into account, he told Szijjártó.

Featured image: MTI

Hungary proposes intergovernmental team on Ukraine educaion law, says FM in New York

Klimkin Szijjártó Ukraine Hungary

Hungary has proposed that an intergovernmental working group should be set up to oversee the implementation of the Venice Commission’s recommendations concerning Ukraine’s new education law, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York on Tuesday.

Szijjártó is in New York to attend a session of the United Nations Security Council focusing on the situation in Ukraine.

Speaking to MTI ahead of a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin, Szijjártó said that “by violating the rights of its Hungarian national minority, Ukraine has created a situation that is bad for everyone.”

“It’s bad for Ukraine, bad for Hungary, but primarily it’s bad for the minority groups living in Ukraine, including Transcarpathia Hungarians,” the minister said.

“Hungary isn’t interested in seeking trouble, but rather in finding a solution to this situation that’s bad for everyone,” Szijjártó said. Hungary wants Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja) Hungarians to regain their acquired rights, he added.

“We also want to return to our policy that in Ukraine’s case was built on supporting our neighbours’ European and Euro-Atlantic integration.”

This is why Hungary has proposed to the Ukrainian government the establishment of an intergovernmental working group that would oversee the implementation of the Venice Commission’s decisions concerning Ukraine, Szijjártó said. He noted that the commission had ruled that the Ukrainian government should consult the country’s minority groups on laws that concern them and cannot curtail their acquired rights.

Hungary will gladly cooperate with Ukraine on monitoring the implementation of the Venice Commission’s decisions, Szijjártó said. He added that Hungary was ready to help Ukriane in making sure that the rights of Transcarpathia Hungarians are not violated in the future.

Ruling Fidesz vows to support criminalising organisation of illegal immigration

migration - Hungary border fence army

Ruling Fidesz’s parliamentary leaders are in favour of a stricter version of the “Stop Soros” package of bills, especially its proposal to write the organisation of illegal migration into the criminal code, the party’s group leader said on Monday.

Máté Kocsis noted at a press conference that

the bill defines the promotion of illegal migration as an organised activity which illegally helps a person not in danger of persecution to submit an asylum request or to obtain a title of residence.

The penalty is 5 to 90 days imprisonment.

A sentence of a year’s imprisonment awaits anyone found guilty of financially supporting illegal migration or gaining from it financially if their activity takes place within 8km of the border.

Illegal activities include surveilling the border and soliciting, collecting or distributing data with a view to promoting illegal migration. Setting up a network to organise illegal migration is also a punishable offence, Kocsis said.

Meanwhile, Kocsis was asked to comment on press reports suggesting that Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wanted to tie Fidesz’s membership of the European People’s Party to the Venice Commission’s opinion of the “Stop Soros” bill.

The Hungarian government, accordingly, must reach an agreement with the Central European University (CEU) on the CEU’s continued operations in Budapest.

Kocsis insisted that the EPP had not given the government “any kind of ultimatum”.

He added, at the same time, that it was “completely obvious” that the EPP had come under “serious pressure” from the “Soros network”, arguing that international rights group Human Rights Watch, which he said had urged Fidesz’s expulsion from the EPP, was also funded by the “Soros network”.

“They want to remove Hungary and Fidesz” as obstacles to illegal migration, Kocsis insisted.

The government will, however, consider the Venice Commission’s opinion of the “Stop Soros” bill.

But it will not budge on its stance that Hungary does not want to become a “country of immigrants”, he added.

Photo: Gergely Botár/kormany.hu

Hungary voices regret over Romania’s banning Szekler official

szeklerland szekler flag Romania Hungary

Hungary seeks to build “civilised” ties based on “mutual respect” with Romania, but such moves as Romania’s recent banning an official of the Szekler National Council (SZNT), a Hungarian citizen, from that country “won’t help the process”, the Hungarian foreign minister told reporters on Saturday.

Péter Szijjártó spoke after Romanian authorities on Friday denied entry to Attila Dabis, foreign affairs commissioner of the Szekler National Council in Romania.

Szijjártó said that legal entrants could only be banned from a country upon a court ruling, and insisted that Romania‘s border police “had not referred to any such decision”. He added that Romanian authorities had declined to comment, and that the Hungarian government would send a diplomatic note to the Romanian interior and foreign ministries.

The foreign minister suggested that

Romania had violated a European citizen’s right to free movement within the community, and called it “unacceptable”.

Concerning events connected to the Day of Szekler Freedom in Marosvásárhely (Targu Mures), which Dabis was planning to attend, Szijjártó said that “nobody must be denied the right to commemorate heroes in history”, and voiced hope that Romania’s authorities will “proceed in a European manner”.

On another subject, Szijjártó criticised Ukraine’s authorities for their “passive stance” concerning continual attacks against that country’s Hungarian community, and insisted that Ukraine was “becoming unworthy” of joining the European Union or NATO. The Hungarian government will “face all debates and fight all battles” for Hungarian people, whether they are living in Hungary or in other countries, Szijjártó added. Hungary will not support any of Ukraine’s endeavours to join international organisations before that country drops its measures hurting ethnic minorities, the minister said.

Referring to recommendations by the EU and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Szijjártó said that the Ukrainian government should enter into negotiations with ethnic minority representatives and change Ukraine’s education law, which currently restricts their access to education in minority languages. Szijjártó also referred to proposals now before Ukraine’s parliament to amend the language law, and said that the “nonsensical” bills were aimed at fully suppressing the Hungarian language in Ukraine.

Ukraine uses “false propaganda” to divide ethnic Hungarians and manipulate the international community, Szijjártó insisted.

Szijjártó noted that Hungary had repeatedly asked leaders of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to extend the presence of OSCE observers from East Ukraine to western parts of the country in light of attacks against the Hungarian minority. According to recent, official information, OSCE has set up a 12-strong mission in Uzhhorod (Ungvár), Szijjártó said.

Photo by MTI

Ukraine must suspend implementation of education law, says Hungarian FM

poroshenko ukraine

Hungary calls on Ukraine to suspend the implementation of its education law until the agreement is reached on details with Transcarpathia Hungarians, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday.

Szijjártó is in Sofia for a two-day informal meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union.

Speaking to MTI by phone after discussing regional security issues with officials of EU candidate countries, Szijjártó said

respect for minority rights was a key aspect of security.

Ukraine — a country looking to move closer to EU integration — has recently seriously violated international law on the protection of minority rights which are also strictly enforced by the EU, the minister said.

Szijjártó accused Kiev of having launched an “international smear campaign” against Hungary and Transcarpathia Hungarians, saying that Ukraine Hungarians had stayed away from a consultation on the education law with the Ukrainian government, as recommended by the Venice Commission. But in fact, he said, the government wanted to consult the Hungarian community on a new law that would have been based on the contested stipulations passed last year. He insisted that representatives of the local Hungarian community had not been invited to discuss the education law. If they had shown up for the consultations, it would have signalled an approval of the education law on their part, he argued.

Szijjártó speculated that

the Ukrainian government had launched its “smear campaign” to “hide the fact that they couldn’t care less about the Venice Commission’s decision” on the education law.

Ukraine’s new rules on education banning post-primary-level education in minority languages were signed into law by the president last September.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Gian Ehrenzeller

Hungary is working on a solution to the Ukraine education law

Hungarians

Hungary will continue to do everything in its power to ensure a solution is found to the standoff around Ukraine’s education law which places restrictions on minorities studying in their mother tongue, a parliamentary official said on Saturday.

Zsolt Németh, Chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told a news conference that Hungary had turned to a number of European Union bodies in connection with its complaint against Ukraine. Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, has sent a letter to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which could play a significant role in resolving the situation in Ukraine, he said. In addition, Németh said it had turned to Stella Kiriakidis, head of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Thorbjorn Jagland, the body’s Secretary General, asking them to examine the situation.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Jagland in Gothenburg on Friday, and both officials discussed the matter. Both were in agreement to a large extent concerning their assessment, he added.

Further, at the initiative of Hungarian MPs, the President of the European Parliament has sent a letter to Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, making it clear that

the education law was contrary to Ukraine’s EU and international obligations.

They called on Ukraine to implement the Venice Commission’s forthcoming recommendations.

Németh also noted that several Hungarian localities in western Ukraine had experienced intimidating behaviour, and a local paramilitary organisation had gone about tearing down Hungarian flags. He said this kind of intimidation of minorities was unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law, he added.

He noted that the Ukraine issue will be on the agenda of the Council of Europe’s standing committee next week, and the Venice Commission will publish its recommendations on Dec. 9.

The issue transcends minority rights and concerns whether Ukraine is turning its back on Europe and going back to the post-Soviet world, he said.

Ukraine will not change Hungarian nationality education until decision of Venice Commission

Hungary has been given a promise that no changes of any kind will be introduced in Ukraine in the education of the Hungarian minority until a decision is adopted by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe with respect to the relevant part of the Ukrainian education legislation, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog said after he had talks with Ukrainian Education Minister Liliya Hrynevych and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Kiev.

At the press conference held jointly, Mr Balog described the atmosphere of the talks in Kiev as constructive. He stressed: the Hungarian Government primarily focuses on the interests of the Hungarians in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja. “What is good for Hungarian-speaking Ukrainian citizens is also good for Budapest”, he stressed. He said that the Hungarian Government wishes to continue talks with the Kiev leadership in agreement with them also in the future.

In his words, the Ukrainian Government expects everyone in Ukraine to speak the state language well, including people in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja where it is important to reinforce the education of the Ukrainian language. He remarked that the Hungarian Teachers’ Federation in Transcarpathia has a number of professional proposals as to how the teaching of Ukrainian to the Hungarian minority can be made more effective.

They will engage in consultations from now on about the application of the laws that serve to ensure this, he added. “We expect that no unilateral measures should be taken with respect to the alteration of the current schooling system until the closing of these consultations, if possible, with an agreement”, he highlighted. In his words, he was given a promise to this effect by the Ukrainian Education Minister.

According to his information, both the Ukrainian Education Minister and Foreign Minister confirmed that

the Hungarian-Ukrainian treaty concluded in 1991 continues to remain in force, and this ensures education in the mother tongue for the Hungarian minority in Ukraine at every level.

“For this very reason, we expect to see no reduction in the significance and level of education in the mother tongue in the future”, he added.

A number of neighbouring countries protested against Article 7 regarding the language of education in the new Ukrainian education law signed by President Petro Poroshenko on 25 September, including Hungary, Romania and Poland. This part of the law – which would enter into force as of September 2020 – lays down: the language of education in Ukraine is Ukrainian. With a view to the implementation of this rule, education in the mother tongue for national minorities will only be permitted in the first four grades of elementary school, and only in the classes or groups of educational institutions operated by municipalities. As of grade 5, all subjects will be taught in Ukrainian. At the same time, the law allows the education of one or several subjects in the language of any of the Member States of the European Union.

Mr Balog pointed out: there is a legal dispute between Hungary and Ukraine as to whether the new education legislation curtails minority rights or not, and this is why they agreed to wait for the position of the Venice Commission.

“There is a pedagogical, an education policy issue that we shall work on together,

there is a legal part in which we are seeking the assistance of international organisations, and there is a part in which we would like to express that preserving good relations between Hungary and Ukraine is very important for us”, he said.

He remarked that the Hungarian Government has done a great deal to support Ukrainians living in Hungary in the past six years. In order for the Ukrainian Education Minister to ascertain this in person, the Minister invited her to visit Hungary.

Liliya Hrynevych stated at the press conference: the meeting was a good opportunity to dispel certain misunderstandings in connection with the new education legislation. She pointed out repeatedly that

they will not close down a single Hungarian school in Transcarpathia/Kárpátalja.

Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin reiterated: the purpose of the law is to provide equal rights and equal opportunities of advancement for every Ukrainian citizen through education, regardless of their national affiliation.

Photo: Gyula Bartos

Federica Mogherini: The EU will start discussion with Ukraine on the new Education Act

The European Union will discuss the new Education Law with Kyiv after the Venice Commission reaches a conclusion on the issue, said Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union (EU) Foreign and Security Policy in Luxembourg, on Monday after the EU Foreign Ministers meeting.

Responding to a journalist question, Mogherini confirmed that the new Ukrainian Education Act was on the agenda of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting.

She reminded that bilateral discussions on minority language education were already held with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in New York at the UN General Assembly meeting in September where the two sides agreed to continue reviewing provisions of the language law affecting minority rights.

Mogherini also reported that the Council of Ministers reaffirmed the Union’s commitment to protecting human rights as well as ways of promoting these rights in bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

Following the meeting, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said neither Federica Mogherini nor Johannes Hahn objected the Hungarian initiative to put the new Ukrainian Education Law on the agenda of the EU-Ukraine Association Council’s next meeting in early December.

Szijjártó stated that the Hungarian government is ready to debate the issue, but its outcome will largely depends on the withdrawal, or at least, the suspension of elements of the Education Law that violates minority rights.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Julien Warnand

Parliament extends deadline for foreign universities to comply with higher education law – UPDATE

Lawmakers on Tuesday amended Hungary’s higher education law to extend the deadline for foreign universities and colleges operating in the country to meet the law’s criteria to January 1, 2019.

Hungary tightened rules governing the operations of foreign universities in the country in the spring, requiring foreign colleges and universities in Hungary to operate on the basis of an interstate agreement and to run a campus in the country in which they are based.

Tuesday’s amendment, submitted by Justice Minister László Trócsányi, was approved with 118 votes in favour, 31 against and 1 abstention.

The bill’s reasoning stated that so far

Hungary has only signed an interstate agreement with the State of Maryland to ensure the continued operations of McDaniel College in Budapest.

Talks between the government and other higher education institutions are still ongoing.

The new deadline was proposed — in part based on recommendations made by the Venice Commission — in order to make it easier for foreign universities to comply with the law, the bill states.

Trócsányi said last week that the government stands by its position that Hungarian laws apply to everyone.

Budapest’s Central European University (CEU), founded by US financier George Soros, has said that the education law passed in the spring would make its continued operations in Budapest impossible.

Talks are ongoing between the government and the State of New York to secure the future of the CEU in Hungary.

CEU reaction

At a press conference on Tuesday, CEU president Michael Ignatieff urged the government to sign an agreement with the State of New York, which he said had already been reached.

Ignatieff said that by having signed an agreement with Bard College to provide educational activities in New York, CEU now fully complied with Hungary’s higher education law.

He said the government was deliberately keeping the university in a state of uncertainty, arguing that this benefitted the government.

Ignatieff said the education commissioner of the State of New York had written a letter to the Hungarian prime minister saying that the agreement signed between the CEU and Bard College was in line with the founding documents of both institutions.

He said the fact that Hungary had already signed an agreement with the State of Maryland but not with the State of New York raised suspicions of discrimination on the part of the government, arguing that the two documents in question were nearly identical.

Photo: MTI

Council of Europe shares Hungary’s concerns about Ukraine education law

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The Council of Europe (CoE) shares Hungary’s concerns related to the Ukraine education law, a letter sent by CoE Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Friday showed.

In the letter dated October 5, Jagland said that

the law “seems to provide less favourable conditions for minority language education in Ukraine.”

The secretary-general said that he had expressed his concerns to the Ukrainian authorities, as well as to the Committee of Ministers on September 27.

“As a result, the Ukrainian authorities decided to request the expertise of the Venice Commission on this law,” he added.

Jagland said he also plans to discuss the issue with the Ukrainian education minister during her visit in Strasbourg and expressed hope to “find ways to cooperate in order to make sure that the legislation of our member state, Ukraine, is in line with our standards.”

Jagland expressed the firm belief that “the respect of our core values, among which the rights of national minorities, is of paramount importance for a strong and democratic Europe”.

Fidesz: New education law could threaten Ukraine’s stability

The coming into effect of Ukraine’s new education law could have a very harmful effect on that country’s stability, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on Monday.

If Ukraine becomes unstable, it will put its European integration perspective at risk, Zsolt Németh told a press conference commenting on the new law, which is set to gradually phase out education in ethnic minority languages after the fifth grade of primary school.

Nemeth, of ruling Fidesz, welcomed that the related Hungarian parliamentary resolution would be supported by all the five parliamentary parties in the Tuesday vote. The resolution will condemn Ukraine’s new education law which threatens the future of 80 ethnic Hungarian schools in Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja), and call on the Ukrainian president to block its coming into effect, he said.

Németh welcomed that

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his Bulgarian, Greek and Romanian counterparts had taken a joint stand against the new law.

As we wrote, the Russian foreign ministry also called for an international co-operation against the Ukrainian education law, which according to the ministry, violates the rights of millions of ethnic Russians, and it is contrary to Ukraine’s constitution and Kiev’s international commitments.

The committee leader said international organisations are also expected to take action in order to prevent the law from coming into force. As we wrote, the Hungarian government is to call on the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and the EU Commissioner for neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations to act on the Ukrainian education bill curbing the right to minority language education.

Németh said he had contacted the head of Romania’s delegation in the Council of Europe and they agreed to initiate an urgent debate about the Ukrainian law at the upcoming CoE session in October.

He expressed agreement with the Ukrainian government’s request for the Venice Commission’s opinion.

Photo: MTI

Hungary sends response to EC regarding infringement procedures

hungary eu flag

Hungary has sent its response to the European Commission regarding the infringement procedures launched because of Hungary’s laws on NGOs financed from abroad and on foreign universities, a justice ministry official said on Monday. 

Last month, the EC stepped up an infringement procedure against Hungary for failing to bring its amended higher education act into compliance with European Union law. It also launched an infringement procedure against the country over a law requiring civil groups to register with a court as foreign-backed groups once their foreign donations reach 7.2 million forints (EUR 23,600) a year.

The EC gave Hungary one month to respond to the matters.

In its response, the government presented its case that the restrictions imposed by the laws in question are necessary and proportionate, state secretary Pál Völner told a press conference.

“We can’t help that the restrictions harm the interests of [US financier] George Soros,” but “not even he is above the law” in Hungary, Völner said. He expressed hope that the EC would “return to the legal ground on which these regulations were adopted”.

Völner insisted that the disagreements between Hungary and the EC regarding the laws in question were mainly political rather than legal in nature.

Regarding the infringement procedure over the amended higher education act, Völner insisted that regulating higher education was a national competency, arguing that the EC’s authority in the matter was “debatable to begin with”.

He suggested that the EC was applying double standards against Hungary in connection with foreign universities, arguing that Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic also require foreign universities operating in their countries to undertake educational activities in their home countries. Slovakia even requires its foreign universities to be headquartered in the EEC, he argued.

Völner said the EC had also criticised the requirement for an interstate agreement to be signed before foreign universities may award degrees in Hungary. The state secretary argued, however, that this stipulation “poses no obstacle between parties willing to work together”. Völner pointed out that Hungary had recently signed an interstate agreement with the US state of Maryland to ensure the continued operations of McDaniel College in Budapest under the amended higher education law. He said the rule prohibiting foreign universities’ use of identical names in different languages was necessary for the sake of credibility.

The aim of the law as a whole is to help identify “phantom universities”, universities without real backgrounds or universities that do not award valuable degrees, he insisted.

On the topic of the infringement procedure launched in connection with the NGO transparency law, Völner noted that in its preliminary opinion about the then bill, the Venice Commission had said the legislation pursued “legitimate aims”. Parliament eventually passed a law amended in line with the Venice Commission’s recommendations in connection with the bill, he noted.

Regarding the EC’s concern that the law introduced restrictions to the free movement of capital, Völner insisted that this was not the case, arguing that civil groups remained free to secure funding from any source they choose. The law ensures the transparent flow of money in the civil sector, he insisted.

“Transparency is needed because it is clear that NGOs worldwide insert themselves into the political process without being subject to laws regulating political parties and influence public opinion while eluding regulation,” he said.

Commenting on a suggestion that the civil groups most vocal in their criticism of the law had yet to register as foreign-backed groups, Völner said this was a form of political protest on their part. If they officially announce their refusal to register, they will face legal action which could end with their dissolution as NGOs in Hungary, he added.

Governing Fidesz says some in Venice Commission sponsored by Soros

The parliamentary group leader of governing Fidesz said there are people in the Venice Commission who are sponsored by Hungarian-born American financier George Soros in an interview with public radio broadcast on Sunday.

Hungary’s higher education act is overall in line with existing European norms, but its amended version tightening rules on foreign universities already present in the country contain some “highly problematic” requirements, the Venice Commission said in a preliminary opinion on the law published on Friday.

These people do what Soros says and must search for legal explanations, Lajos Kósa said on Kossuth Radio.

He said it was “absurd” that the European Commission believes the Central European University does not have to comply with Hungary’s law on higher education.

“Laws apply to everybody, even to George Soros,” he added.

Regulating higher education falls within the scope of power of the state in Hungary, he said, adding that everybody had taken the amended law on higher education seriously, and that agreements had already been reached with other American institutions of higher education operating in Hungary.

Kósa said Fidesz would not participate in an extraordinary session of parliament initiated by the opposition to amend the law on higher education. This shows how things would work in Hungary if the Socialists were governing: George Soros could call a session of parliament and organise votes with his people on anything he wants, he added.

On the issue of migration, Kósa said it was clear that the pressure would increase in the summer. Now NGOs are partnering with smugglers to help the migrants under the guise of humanitarianism, he added. He noted that public opinion on the matter had shifted in Europe, and that the Italians had laid down stricter rules for NGOs than those in Hungary’s civil code.

Photo: MTI

Brussels wants to ratchet up tensions, says Hungarian government

eu-european commission

It appears that Brussels is intent on ratcheting up tensions with Hungary and is uninterested in finding a solution to differences between the European Commission and the country, a justice ministry official said in an interview published by news site Origo on Saturday.

Pál Völner, parliamentary state secretary of the Justice Ministry, said the government will send its response to the commission regarding the infringement procedures launched because of Hungary’s laws on NGOs financed from abroad and on foreign universities. The government objects to the requirement that it respond in the space of a month when in the past the normal practice was to reply within two months, he said.

Standpoints between the institution and Hungary are far apart, and, by shortening the timeframe, the commission wants to bring the matters before the court, he added.

Völner insisted that in respect of NGOs financed abroad, the commission had been unable to produce a convincing counterargument, while the Venice Commission had qualified the government’s measures as “completely legitimate”.

The state secretary complained that Hans Timmermans, the first vice-president of the commission, had already formed an opinion about the case before the translation of the Hungarian regulations had been made available. And whereas previously he had mentioned the matter of “the Soros university” (CEU) as a breach of the higher-education law, he now objects to related government measures on the ground that they violate the free movement of services, he added.

Völner said matters had been rectified, since the EU had admitted that higher-education regulations are a national competence, and this is what the Venice Commission established in its report.

He noted that attempts had been made in the European Parliament to tighten up rules governing the transparency of NGOs but they were withdrawn because of the disputes surrounding the Hungarian regulations.

Meanwhile, on the subject of Hungary’s lawsuit challenging the legality of the mandatory resettlement of migrants according to a quota system, Völner said a decision was expected in September. The government’s position is that the programme breaks EU law. If in the end the court rules that the decision of the majority of EU interior ministers is legally sound, then the infringement procedure will continue with an unpredictable outcome, he said.

Venice Commission says certain provisions of higher edu act ‘highly problematic’

ceu budapest hungary

Hungary’s higher education act is overall in line with existing European norms, but its amended version tightening rules on foreign universities already present in the country contain some “highly problematic” requirements, the Venice Commission said in a preliminary opinion on the law published on Friday. 

The Council of Europe’s commission acknowledged that European countries have a right to regulate foreign universities operating on their territories, as there are no clear unified European norms or models in this field. It added, however, that while the regulations laid out in Hungary’s law may legitimately be imposed on foreign higher education institutions not yet present in the country, the same could not be said in the cases of established institutions.

The commission said that after the amendment was submitted, it was passed relatively quickly by parliament which made it impossible to conduct a transparent legislative procedure during which the government could have consulted the parties concerned by the bill. This “would have been beneficial to the Law and its democratic legitimacy”, the commission said.

In its recommendations, the commission proposed that established foreign universities should be exempt from the requirement for an interstate agreement to be signed before they may award degrees in Hungary and the obligation to undertake educational activities in their home countries. It also recommends that the prohibition on foreign universities’ use of identical names in different languages be removed. Hungary should also “ensure that new rules on work permit requirement do not disproportionally affect academic freedom and are applied in a non-discriminatory and flexible manner”.

The commission pointed out that although the law does not name any higher education institutions, it primarily affects Budapest’s Central European University (CEU). Out of the 24 foreign universities currently operating in Hungary, the CEU “seems to be the only university that will seriously be affected” by the prohibition on foreign universities’ use of identical names in different languages, the commission said.

In June, the commission sent a delegation to Budapest to discuss the law with government officials and representatives from the CEU.

Last month, the European Commission stepped up an infringement procedure it had launched against Hungary over the law.

Reacting to the opinion, the Government Information Centre welcomed the commission’s view that the requirements in the law could be legitimately imposed on foreign universities not yet operating in Hungary. The Government Information Centre said in a statement that it agreed with the commission that all countries have a right to set the rules by which foreign universities can operate on their territory.

As regards the commission’s recommendations, they said the government “should not accept double standards”, arguing that the stipulations laid out in the law must apply equally to all higher education institutions, “including the Soros university and other universities as well”.

The Government Information Centre said it disagreed with the commission’s view that the requirements in the law should not apply to institutions already operating in Hungary. They said the government “regrets and is puzzled by the fact” that the Venice Commission “based the greater part of its opinion on the CEU New York and the Kozep-Europai Egyetem” even though it “acknowledges that the amendment affects several foreign higher education institutions operating in Hungary”.

The Government Information Centre said the recommendation that the amendment should not apply to already established foreign institutions violates Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the prohibition of discrimination.

The Venice Commission also criticized the Hungarian law on foreign-funded NGOs. They said, despite amendments, still raises concerns.

Photo: ceu.edu

Deputy Speaker of Hungarian Parliament Gulyás holds talks in Washington

Capitol Washington

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Gergely Gulyás met members of the US House of Representatives and leaders of civil organisations on the first day of a three-day visit to Washington, DC on Wednesday.

Aiming to discuss US-Hungarian relations and the challenges facing the EU and NATO “in as wide a circle as possible”, Gulyas held talks with Republican Congressmen Chris Smith of New Jersey, Dennis Ross of Florida and Steve King of Iowa as well as Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio. He also met the deputy head of the Heritage Foundation, the head of the Family Research Council and representatives of other organisations.

Speaking to MTI by phone late on Wednesday local time, Gulyás said that a bipartisan delegation of the House of Representatives is to visit Hungary in autumn.

US-Hungarian cooperation is optimal in economic and security policy as well as on military issues, but diplomatic ties are “lagging sorely behind”, Gulyás said. The approach of the past eight years’ Democratic administration, which “placed ideological questions before practical matters and intruded unduly into the inner politics of many countries”, still holds sway over Washington’s foreign policy, Gulyás said.

The US Embassy in Hungary is “unfortunately a hurdle in establishing correct communication between the countries”, Gulyás said citing the embassy’s criticism of the Hungarian law on the transparency of foreign-funded NGOs.

The law, passed earlier this month, requires NGOs receiving foreign donations above a certain threshold to register as organisations funded from abroad.

Gulyás said the US’ criticism of the law had come in spite of the Hungarian government’s acceptance of parts of the Venice Commission’s report and prior coordination with the US embassy itself. The Hungarian law is now actually closer to US legislation on the issue than it had been before, Gulyás insisted.

Migration is another issue where the Hungarian standpoint is very close to that of the current US president, Gulyás said.

Gulyás said his visit was marked by openness towards an agreement with Hungarian politics. “The negative media coverage notwithstanding, many realise that these articles do not tell the truth”, he said.

Justice ministry: Venice Commission criticism “baffling” after Hungary cooperation

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Criticism of Hungary by the Venice Commission after acceptance of its proposals regarding the law on the transparency of foreign-funded NGOs is “baffling”, the justice ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Hungary cooperated extensively with the Council of Europe body before the law was passed and timed the parliamentary vote on the bill so that its preliminary opinion could be taken into consideration, the statement said. Parliament subsequently accepted three of the five proposals in the preliminary opinion, it said.

The ministry called it “prejudiced” that in the press release on the VC’s web site the commission announced it would soon send a delegation to Hungary to review the amendment of the higher education law “sanctioning the closing of the university founded by George Soros”. The press release said the delegation would prepare another opinion on this law.

The Venice Commission, the CoE’s legal advisory body, adopted an opinion on the Hungarian law on the transparency of foreign-funded NGOS on Friday. The law passed this week only partly satisfies the preliminary opinion’s main recommendations, the commission said.

It acknowledged that the aim of ensuring transparency of NGOs in order to prevent undue foreign political influence, money laundering and terrorism-financing was legitimate in principle.

“However, the commission stressed that this legitimate aim may not be used to stigmatise NGOs or restrict their ability to carry out their activities. This effect would go beyond the legitimate aim of transparency,” according to the opinion.