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    The case to the EU Council

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20 July 2021 The European Commission rejects the policy of the Hungarian government across the board. It does so in its report card on the rule of law in the countries of the Union.



"Implementation of the anti-corruption strategy" in Hungary "is underway, but its scope remains limited. Gaps persist in political party financing and lobbying. Risks of patronage, favoritism and nepotism in public administration remain unresolved at a high level, as well as the risks deriving from the link between companies and political actors ". Brussels also underlines that "the recommendation to strengthen the independence of the judiciary, formulated in the context of the European Semester" has not yet been addressed.



"Concerns remain about the lack of systematic controls and the insufficient supervision of asset and interest declarations", continues the European Commission's report. Furthermore, although "the indictment rate for corruption cases is high and some new high-level corruption cases have been opened since 2020, the track record for investigating allegations involving high-level officials and their inner circle remains limited. ".



Media pluralism at risk

"Media pluralism remains at risk. Concerns persist regarding the independence and effectiveness of the Media Authority, also in light of the decisions of the Media Council that led to the removal of air broadcasting from independent radio Klubrádió. . Although no media support schemes were established to counter the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the media, significant amounts of state advertising continued to allow the government to exert indirect political influence on the media. " 



"Access to public information has been strengthened through emergency measures introduced during the pandemic, making timely access to such information more difficult for independent media. Independent media and journalists continue to face obstacles and intimidation," the report concludes.



Budapest: "Verdict already written"

 "Don't be under any illusions: the verdict on Hungary was issued even before a letter was written on a piece of paper. Instead of justification, objectivity and true professional work, it echoes the criticisms of those NGOs that remain negatively biased towards Hungary. . Our intuitions turned out to be right again. The report is part of a campaign in which the rule of law does not mean principle but an instrument of extortion. " Thus the Hungarian minister of justice, Judit Varga, commented on Twitter the report on the rule of law published today by the EU Commission, in which various criticisms of Hungary emerge