The EU shows its determination to uphold the rule of law in Hungary
The European Commissioner for Justice (here in June 2021) reiterated the importance of respecting the rules within the EU.
AP - Francisco Seco
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Twenty-seven Ministers of European Affairs, Justice or Foreign Affairs met this Tuesday, April 12 in Luxembourg to discuss the situation of the rule of law in five EU countries, including Hungary.
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According to Judit Varga, Magyar voters do not share the European Commission's concerns about the rule of law in Hungary.
The Hungarian Minister of Justice takes as proof of this the comfortable absolute majority
obtained by the government of Viktor Orban
in the legislative elections of 3rd April last.
And for Judit Varga, the moment is badly chosen to attack Hungary, a neighbor of Ukraine at war.
“
In these very difficult times, we must show unity, solidarity and solidity between European partners.
We should focus on the issues that unite us rather than those that drive wedges between us
,” she pleads.
However, for the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, major concerns remain about the independence of the Hungarian media, the balance of powers, the fight against corruption and the judicial system, reports our correspondent in Brussels,
Pierre Benazet
.
“
In a troubled international situation where we are sanctioning Russia in Ukraine, we want to ensure that an international order is based on rules.
It is important that we pay great attention to respecting the rules within the EU
”, argued Didier Reynders.
The problems identified in Hungary with regard to the award of public contracts, conflicts of interest and corruption led the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to announce on April 5 the launch of a procedure which may lead to the suspension of the payment of European funds to Budapest.
The official letter should be sent to the Hungarian government at the end of April.
The "conditionality" mechanism is a procedure in force since January 2021, but never used yet, allowing the payment of European funds to be suspended to a country where violations of the rule of law affecting the finances of the EU are observed. .
Its implementation should take between six and nine months and the final decision must be taken by a qualified majority of at least 15 of the 27 Member States, representing 65% of the EU population.
The insufficient fight against corruption is also the reason for the blocking by the Commission of the Hungarian recovery plan, amounting to 7.2 billion euros in European subsidies.
(
And with
AFP)
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