Bloc members are calling for stern action by the EU to bring a defiant Hungary into line with “the fundamental values” enshrined in the Treaty of the European Union. Claiming that recent legal initiatives in Budapest were in violation of European law, exasperated EU ministers assembled for a General Affairs Council in Brussels this week determined to launch a hearing on the rule of law in Hungary under terms of the EU’s Article 7 process. At issue is the Viktor Orbán government’s so-called “spring clean”, which includes draft transparency legislation aimed at regulating foreign-funded media and NGOs, as well as a ban on the Budapest Pride Parade.
Twenty member states signed a joint declaration before the scheduled meeting stating their alarm at “developments which run contrary to the fundamental values and human dignity, freedom, equality, and respect for human rights, as laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union.” They pointed out how the latest Hungarian legislation calls for fines to be imposed on participants and organisers of the Pride event and also allows for the identification of participants with AI smart camera systems.
“We call upon Hungary to revise these measures, to ensure the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens are respected and protected, thus complying with its international obligations”, the signatories declared while urging the European Commission to take every appropriate action should Budapest fail to comply. Signatories included Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Greece.
Hungary’s EU minister János Bóka rejected the criticism, insisting that “there is no such thing in Hungary as a Pride ban” and promising to reassure them about Hungary’s constitutional provisions.
The Article 7 process began in 2018 when the European Parliament called for Hungary to be sanctioned because of alleged rule of law violations, especially in the field of justice and media freedom. The Council has since reviewed and discussed the issue seven times but has yet to move on to the next step in the Article 7 process, by which member states could invoke sanctions.
Critics have also pointed to “Transparency of Public Life”, a draft bill tabled in the Hungarian legislature on 13 May, that would empower the government to curtail the press and critical voices in civil society. The European Commission has asked Hungary to withdraw the bill, claiming that were it to pass, “it would constitute a serious breach of EU principles and law.”
“The first phase of the Article 7 process has now been ongoing for a relatively long time, so no one can accuse us of not being patient”, Germany’s EU minister Gunther Kirchbaum told reporters, adding, “at a certain point we have to make up our minds about what is next” since his colleagues’ “patience is disappearing day by day.“
