The relationship between the EU and Hungary has been strained for years. A new report by the EU Justice Commissioner now gives the country a bad report.
According to an EU report, Hungary continues to violate the rule of law on a massive scale. There is a “systemic problem” with fundamental rights in Hungary, said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders on Wednesday in Brussels when presenting the annual report on the rule of law in the 27 member states. Brussels is also concerned about the restructuring of public broadcasting in Slovakia. Journalists’ associations warn against state influence.
In its fifth rule of law report, the Commission has made a “record number” of eight recommendations to Viktor Orbán’s government, according to an EU official. This is politically explosive, as Hungary holds the rotating EU Council Presidency this six months.
According to Vice-President of the Commission Věra Jourová, there are violations in Hungary in all four pillars of the rule of law: the judicial system, anti-corruption measures, freedom of the press and the separation of powers.
Hungary must provide “solid evidence of investigations, prosecutions and final verdicts in high-level corruption cases,” says the country report on Hungary. In addition, the Orbán government must strengthen the “editorial independence of public media” and repeal laws that restrict the work of civil society organizations.
A year ago, Justice Commissioner Reynders had already certified that the country had “very large deviations in the rule of law”. The EU had therefore initiated various proceedings against Hungary in recent years and put funding on hold. Due to various violations of fundamental rights – for example in the right to asylum – a good 20 billion euros in EU aid for Hungary is currently frozen, as Reynders emphasised.
“In light of the systemic crimes that have been going on in Hungary for years, it is finally time to put Viktor Orbán in his place and withdraw Hungary’s voting rights in the EU,” said MEP Moritz Körner (FDP). The European Parliament had already initiated a so-called Article Seven procedure against Hungary in 2018. However, all 26 member states other than Hungary would have to agree to withdrawing voting rights in the EU Council, but this is still not in sight.
Regarding Slovakia, Vice-President of the Commission Jourová said that she had already spoken to Prime Minister Robert Fico in April about the contested law on the restructuring of public broadcasting. However, the final version is not yet available, so the EU Commission has no means of taking action. If there are any violations, Brussels could initiate infringement proceedings. The organization Reporters Without Borders had warned of a “hard blow” to press freedom.
