Sovereignty law in Hungary: European Union opens infringement procedure
After the adoption by Hungary in mid-December of legislation establishing a supervisory authority supposed to prevent "foreign interference" in the electoral process and "protect the sovereignty" of the country, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure on Wednesday against Hungary.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a summit of Visegrad countries in Budapest, in 2021. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
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It is the adoption by Hungary
of
a legislative package which notably provides for prison sentences and creates a supervisory authority to fight against interference in elections which has aroused concern in Brussels, reports our correspondent in Brussels ,
Pierre Benazet.
The “independent office for the protection of sovereignty”, as it is called, was set up following a national consultation which Viktor Orbán uses to justify this new democratic retreat. This new agency is closely related to the Russian law on foreign agents and after carrying out a thorough assessment, the European Commission considers that this Hungarian law may not be in compliance with European law.
Read also Extraordinary EU Summit: “We must not allow Hungarian blackmail to take place”
Thus, the European Union sent Hungary a letter called “
formal notice
” for violation of the law. A letter to which the Magyar authorities have two months to respond because after "
an in-depth assessment
", "
the Commission raises serious concerns as to the conformity (of the new law) with EU law",
in particular concerning
"the principle of democracy, electoral rights, respect for the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU data protection and several rules applicable to the internal market
,” explains a spokesperson.
“
Silencing critical voices
”
Several
human rights
NGOs , including Amnesty International, also denounced the government's desire to “
silence critical voices ”, believing that “
journalists, businesses, unions, churches and municipalities
” could be targeted
.
For its part, “
the government will not back down
,” said spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs. According to him, it is not surprising that Brussels is "
attacking
" this law because the Hungarian government regularly accuses the EU and "
various
foreign organizations", notably American, of "
distributing billions of euros" to the opposition in order to " to influence the choice of voters
.
Could this quarrel between the EU and Hungary undermine
the European funding expected by Hungary?
Viktor Orbán obtained a guarantee at the last summit that the payment of European funds would be evaluated impartially, but if he continues to contravene European values, the payments are likely to remain frozen.
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