Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok held talks with members of the Venice Commission in Budapest on Thursday, after turning to the Council of Europe’s constitutional advisory body over what his office described as a constitutional conflict between Hungarian public law institutions following the elections.
According to the Sándor Palace, the Venice Commission has indicated that it is ready to examine Sulyok’s submission as a matter of urgency and to gather information on the case through in-person consultations in Budapest. The Council of Europe also confirmed that Venice Commission President Marta Cartabia concluded a visit to Hungary on 2 July, during which the delegation met several senior Hungarian officials.
Venice Commission delegation visits Budapest
The talks were attended by Marta Cartabia, President of the Venice Commission, Simona Granata-Menghini, Director and Secretary of the Venice Commission, and Christoph Grabenwarter, the member delegated by Austria.
The Council of Europe said the delegation visited Hungary at the invitation of Prime Minister Péter Magyar. During the visit, the Venice Commission representatives met President Tamás Sulyok, the prime minister, government ministers and the President of Parliament.
The official Council of Europe statement said the meetings focused on the framework for cooperation linked to Hungary’s planned constitutional reform. It also stated that the discussions covered the timing of the planned adoption of the draft XVII constitutional amendment, against the background of the request for an opinion recently submitted by the Hungarian president.
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Sulyok requested help over a constitutional conflict
The Sándor Palace recalled that Sulyok contacted the Venice Commission on 29 May. In his submission, the president asked for the Commission’s expert assistance in resolving what his office called a constitutional conflict that had emerged between Hungarian public law institutions after the elections.
According to the statement, the president asked the body to help find a solution that takes European constitutional values into account. The Sándor Palace added that the Venice Commission had signalled its readiness to deal with the submission urgently.
For foreign readers, the Venice Commission is the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional law. Its opinions are not court rulings, but they are closely watched in European legal and political debates, especially when constitutional amendments, rule-of-law issues or institutional conflicts are involved.
Talks also linked to constitutional reform
The Council of Europe’s official communication framed the Budapest visit more broadly as part of discussions on Hungary’s constitutional reform process. It said the delegation clarified the role and working methods of the Commission with a view to defining the framework for effective cooperation.
This means the visit was not only a formal meeting with the head of state, but also part of a wider consultation process involving several branches of the Hungarian state. According to the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission delegation met President Sulyok, Prime Minister Péter Magyar, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Bálint Ruff, Foreign Minister Anita Orbán, Justice Minister Márta Görög and President of Parliament Ágnes Forsthoffer.
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President hopes for a solution in line with European norms
In its statement to MTI, the Sándor Palace said the president appreciated the Venice Commission’s commitment to supporting the settlement of the disputed situation.
The statement added that Sulyok expressed hope that consultations between the Commission and the Hungarian government would also contribute successfully to preserving Hungary’s constitutional order at a level that meets European standards.
The case may therefore become an important point of reference in the coming weeks as Hungary moves forward with its planned constitutional amendment. While the Commission’s opinion will not be legally binding, its assessment could carry political and legal weight both in Hungary and in the wider Council of Europe framework.
Source: MTI, Council of Europe
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Foreigners should have no business having any say in Hungary’s internal political and constitutional affairs. (That includes the E.U., of course, whose ugly rag is stuck in our face at every opportunity, whenever there’s a Hungarian flag as well.) Too many people paid with their lives to ensure it not happen again.
But alas…