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Neither the plenary of the European Parliament nor the Council have made a decision yet, it is a preliminary political agreement of the negotiating delegations, said Judit Varga, Minister of Justice, on the agreement on the mechanism of the rule of law yesterday. As our news portal wrote, a three-week series of talks ended yesterday, after a delegation of political groups in the European Parliament and representatives of the Council of Member States decided to submit the payment of EU aid to the State of Right. This was reported by participants in triumphant tweets, in part because they attacked the rule of law debate with the deal, so Hungary and Poland, who are most threatened with funding, could be defeated.
However, Judit Varga pointed out that the debate is not over.
“It was a preliminary consultation on the legislation. The agreement has to be approved even in the plenary session of the European Parliament and of the Council ”, said the Minister of Justice. However, this does not mean that the decision has no legal and political weight. The EP voted on a resolution calling for a rule of law mechanism in October, meaning that the agreement just approved is expected to be approved in the next plenary as well. But the decision also grants political capital to member states that support the mechanism. Judit Varga pointed out in this regard that a group of so-called tight-fisted states may be behind the agreement. From the beginning, the Netherlands and Sweden opposed the budget approved at the July European Council summit, which was increased to € 1.82 billion, and the Justice Group said the group that supports them deliberately and in bad faith it would prevent Hungary and Poland from rejecting the package.
If this is the basis of any sanctions system, it will be a constant extortion tool in the hands of the European Commission.
Said the Minister of Justice. In his view, this will essentially put EU officials in the hands of EU funds to support Member States. “Sanctions can also be imposed on the basis of a critical article in the press,” Judit Varga said. According to the politician, the agreement destroys the unity of the European Union in several aspects. In July, the European Council adopted a framework budget for 2021-2027 with a multi-day summit, which created a special fund to address the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic. The EP is attacking parts of the € 1.8 billion package. The July conclusions make it clear that EU funds cannot be linked to political and ideological conditions. Judit Varga has pointed out that the agreement reached between the EP and the Council on Thursday was the other way around, and thus kicked off the entire July compromise, since there is no agreement on anything until we have agreed on everything. In addition, according to the Minister of Justice, there is an EU mechanism in place for the protection of European values and the rule of law, such as the seven article procedure, which can be initiated by a third of the Member States, the EP or the Commission. When asked, Varga said: The Hungarian government is open to renegotiating the sanctions system. However, this would mean a revision of the Treaties, which has its own internal regulations and requires the consensus of the Member States. However, the decision now adopted, although it is a lower level legislative act, still seeks to annul the founding EU treaties, which is illegal and could even be challenged in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“If it continues like this, of course we will go to the wall.”
– She continued. According to Varga, the Hungarian government has already put several proposals on the table and they are constructive for the debate on the rule of law. However, despite the start of a professional debate, opponents of the Hungarian position still take it to an ideological level. According to the minister, the ball does not bounce off the Hungarian side anyway. Now the President-in-Office of the Union, Germany, must find a common voice among opposing interests and ensure that the new budgetary framework can enter into force on January 1, 2021.
Therefore, we asked Judit Varga why there was no MEP from Fidesz in the parliamentary delegation to discuss the rule of law mechanism. In the trilogue between the EP, the Council and the Commission, Katalin Cseh was the only Hungarian MEP to subject the payment of EU money to strict conditions of the rule of law. However, according to Judit Varga, it was not up to Fidesz MEPs not to be included in the conciliation of their faction.
“These are roles that are distributed based on positions and quotas,” he said. So we asked why Fidesz was unsuccessful, why Katalin Cseh was able to succeed. However, according to the Minister of Justice, this was not her instant personal merit, because Katalin Cseh was unable to land an important position in the EP due to her skills.
“It is not their merit, it is the network behind it,” said the minister.
According to him, there is a strong lobby in the EP to avoid Hungarian aspirations. Representatives of the Hungarian opposition receive special attention because they can be used well as a tool in this fight. The minister recalled that Katalin Cseh’s momentary partner, Anna Donáth, had previously failed to grant, though previously denied, Vera Jourova, who had written a report on the rule of law condemning the Hungarian government.
“It is sad that, driven by personal ambitions, a politician opposed to Hungarian interests took part in the negotiations.”
Judit Varga added.
(Cover image: Judit Varga. Photo: Zsolt Szigetváry / MTI)
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