“Hungary is regrettably failing to implement the necessary reforms to conclude the proceedings under Article 7 of the EU treaties for endangering the fundamental values of the European Union,” said Hadja Lahbib, Belgium’s Minister for Foreign and General Affairs, in Luxembourg.
Minister Lahbib, who holds the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union until June 30, made these remarks ahead of a meeting of member states’ ministers for general EU affairs. Tuesday marked the seventh occasion on which the Council discussed Hungary’s case under the Article 7 procedure. Earlier this month she was the also the one calling for depriving Hungary of its voting rights in the Council of the European Union
Hadja Lahbib noted that a re-hearing for Hungary is necessary due to its ongoing lack of respect for the rule of law, minority rights, and judicial independence. She highlighted concerns over Hungary’s alleged disregard for fundamental values including media freedom, academic freedom, freedom of association, and issues of executive governance, which are under scrutiny in the ongoing Article 7 procedure.
#Article7 procedure has become a political issue in the #EUelections2024. I hope that after the election we will manage to steer the discussion into a more objective and constructive manner. pic.twitter.com/VULN4nObFr
— Bóka János (@JanosBoka_HU) June 25, 2024
It can be seen that if there is the will, the Article 7 procedure can be closed very quickly, as the example of Poland shows,” she said.
What the example of Poland shows has been well summed up by Joakim Scheffer in the Hungarian Conservative, where he pointed out that Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar submitted a proposal aiming to appoint new judges to the panel of the National Council of the Judiciary, while excluding judges nominated by the previous council. The proposal was criticized by the Polish Supreme Court, “which argued that it would place many judges in an illegal position and potentially create chaos in the judiciary. The new Justice Minister has also played a key role in the Tusk government’s attack on the Polish public media. Additionally, Bodnar was involved in the arrest of two PiS politicians—Mariusz Kamiński, the former Interior Minister, and his deputy, Maciej Wąsik. According to former Prime Minister and current opposition leader Mateusz Morawiecki, this marks a return to Poland’s darkest days, with political prisoners in the country for the first time since the fall of communism. The Polish Supreme Court has declared the attempts to restructure the state media unconstitutional.”
Ms. Lahbib, who saw no fault with Poland’s new prime minister’s suspect and controversial decisions has, furthermore, urged Hungary to adopt the necessary reforms so that the procedure could be concluded during its six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which starts on July-1.
Upon her arrival, European Commission Transparency and Values Commissioner Vera Jourová, known for her long-running antagonistic relationship with the Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán, stated that the EU would continue to monitor several areas under the Article 7 procedure against Hungary, particularly the media, academic freedom, freedom of association, and the longstanding issue of extraordinary executive governance. Commissioner Jourová emphasized that the rotating presidency, beginning next week, is crucial for Hungary to demonstrate its ability to act fairly and fulfill its duties as the presiding country. I hope that the Hungarian Presidency will show professionalism,” the Czech politician added.
Apart from making patronizing statements about Hungary such as the one above, Ms. Jourová, similarly to Hadja Lahbib, welcomed the so called “reforms” introduced by Donald Tusk’s government and had supported the EC’s decision to end Article 7 proceedings against Warsaw. In contrast, the Co-Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament, Prof. Ryszard Legutko (PiS), condemned the takeover of the Polish state media by Donald Tusk’s government by saying that “the replacement of top staff in supervisory bodies, dismissals and attempts to switch off the signal and block the website are radical violations of the Polish constitution. The takeover was clearly characterized by thoughts of revenge and censorship. In addition to freedom of the press, the rule of law was also at risk, as the majority of parliament had merely passed a resolution and thus bypassed the legislative process. Legutko said: “This marked the first day of the end of democracy and free access to information in Poland, guaranteed by Article 54(1) of the Polish Constitution.”
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Via MTI; Featured Image: X/Hadja Lahbib
