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The first report of the European Commission on the rule of law has been published. This is not the sanction mechanism that could lead to the withdrawal of EU money from Member States in the future, but it certainly offers an honest view of the situation in that Member State. The sections on Hungary also contain quite serious conclusions. Not surprisingly, the Hungarian government used heavy artillery to refute the statements and discredit them. It is a pity that sources considered “unreliable” include the Hungarian government.
The European Commission on Wednesday released its first report on the rule of law at the EU level, which provided a detailed analysis of the state of law in each member state.
Importantly, this is not the specific rule of law mechanism associated with the payment of EU subsidies, the creation of which the Hungarian government, together with the Poles, threatens to veto the launch of a fund to finance the seven-year budget. of the EU and the corona virus epidemic. . This report on the rule of law is not a sanction mechanism. According to the European Commission, this is a new prevention tool as part of the new annual European rule of law mechanism.
The aim of the report is to review the main developments in the EU, both positive and negative, as well as the specific situation in each Member State, and to identify potential problems with the rule of law and best practices as soon as possible. The report covers four areas:
- judicial system,
- anti-corruption framework,
- pluralism and freedom of the media,
- other institutional issues related to checks and balances.
The rule of law report consists of a general report and 27 country chapters presenting the specific situation of the member states.
Problems with judicial independence
In its analysis of Hungary, the Commission highlights that in recent years the EU institutions have expressed their concern about the independence of the judiciary in Hungary, including in proceedings initiated by the European Parliament under Article 7 of the Treaty of the EU.
The report notes that the Hungarian government has yet to act on the call to strengthen judicial independence in the context of the European Semester. They point out that, for example, it is a challenge for the independent National Council of the Judiciary to counter the powers of the President of the National Office of the Judiciary, which is in charge of administering the courts.
According to the report, events related to the Curia are also cause for concern, in particular the decision of the Curia to declare illegal a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The report is concerned that the new rules will allow the appointment of members of the Constitutional Court elected by Parliament to the position of Judge of the Curia without the normal procedure, and will relax the conditions for the appointment of the President of the Curia. At the same time, the report notes that, in terms of efficiency and quality, the judiciary is performing well in terms of length of proceedings and a high level of digitization.
Serious findings on corruption
The report notes that the institutional framework for the fight against corruption is divided between different bodies. However, corruption is fueled by insufficient independent control mechanisms and the close intertwining of politics and some national companies.
In the event of serious allegations, there is a systemic failure to take decisive action in the investigation and prosecution of corruption cases involving senior officials or their immediate surroundings. This problem has also arisen in the context of the European Semester and by the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), given the lack of commitment to comply with GRECO’s recommendations, the report says.
With regard to systemic audits and independent monitoring, the verification of declarations of assets and interests can be improved. Although lobbying regulation is still incomplete, anti-corruption policies focus on the integrity of public administration and law enforcement.
The possibilities for civic oversight are shrinking in parallel with restrictions on media freedom, which, coupled with the hostile environment surrounding civil society organizations and ongoing new challenges to transparency and accountability. access to public information further weakens the anti-corruption framework.
Indirect political influence in the media
According to the authors of the report, the independence and effectiveness of the Media Council is at stake. Transparency of media ownership is not fully guaranteed. The concentration of the media through the establishment of the Central European Press and Media Foundation (KESMA) has increased the threats to media pluralism. Through a significant amount of state advertising to pro-government media, the government can exert indirect political influence on the media.
The work of the independent media is systematically hampered. More worrying is the growing acquisition of such media.
Legal certainty in question
The transparency and quality of the legislative process is of concern as public consultations and impact assessments are used less frequently. Regarding legal certainty, the fact that the authorities have been able to challenge final judicial decisions before the Constitutional Court raises questions.
The weakening of independent institutions and increased pressure on civil society are having an even greater impact on checks and balances. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the law on transparency of organizations with foreign aid is incompatible with EU law. Legislative measures are being prepared to enforce the sentence, the report said.
The government brought out the heavy artillery
It is worth noting that the European Commission has prepared this document in close cooperation with a number of stakeholders, with the participation of the Member States. The Commission, in consultation with the national authorities of the Member States, including the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders such as journalists’ associations and civil society, has clearly identified the sources at the end of the report and with what organizations in the context of the report. agreed. In addition, prior to the adoption of the report, member states had the opportunity to supplement their country chapters with updated factual information; in other words, the Hungarian government was not unexpectedly affected by the report, but was aware of its contents prior to its publication.
The fact that the report may contain embarrassing statements for the Hungarian government has already been suggested by the fact that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Justice Minister Judit Varga had been claiming that “attacks” would be launched against Hungary in the autumn. Viktor Orbán ended this in the days prior to the publication of the report by demanding the resignation of Vera Jourova, vice president of the commission responsible for the issue, from the president of the council. Subsequently, this communication was joined by other members of the government and Tamás Deutsch MEP.
Even after the report was released, the fighting spirit did not wane. Judit Varga commented on the report on Facebook, saying: “The 2020 European Commission report on the rule of law published today is absurd and false, so it cannot serve as a basis for any debate on the rule of law in the European Union. The concept and methodology of the report are flawed, unbalanced. “
According to Judit Varga, “the choice of sources for the report is biased and not transparent” and “it was actually written by organizations that are part of a centrally funded international network campaigning against Hungary”, most of which received support. financial officer of Open Society Foundations affiliated with György Soros.
Contrary to the report’s conclusions, Judit Varga states in the post: “Hungary is one of the few member states where real pluralism prevails in the media, ideological debates and public opinion.” “Hungary’s Basic Law and its state system are based on the rule of law.” It further states: “An objective and impartial analysis of all reliable information on the situation in Hungary can only lead to the conclusion that the fundamental values of the European Union are respected in Hungary and the rule of law prevails.”
The SAO was not left out of the queue either
The State Audit Office (SAO) also sent a communication to the MTI, in which it does not directly refer to the European Commission report on the rule of law, but states that since 2010 the integrity approach that guarantees the suppression and prevention corruption has been strengthened and institutionalized in Hungary. The SAO recalls that last week a joint statement was issued by state organizations that cooperate in the fight against corruption: the Ministry of the Interior, the State Audit Office, the Curia, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the National Judicial Office, the Authority of Public Procurement, the National Bank of Hungary and the Economic Office. The heads of the Competition Authority, in which the signatories declared that the rule of law in Hungary is properly applied in the fight against corruption and that the organizations they lead are committed to cooperation in the fight against corruption.
The Public Procurement Authority also demonstrates transparency
The European Commission report did not miss a word from the European Public Procurement Authority. In its communication to the MTI, the authority declares that the European Commission’s own data supports the extraordinary transparency of public procurement and adequate competition in Hungary. (Contrary to KH’s claims, country-specific reports and recommendations from the European Commission in recent years have repeatedly drawn attention to the lack of competition in public procurement and apostrophized it as a major problem – ed.)
KH argues that, according to the indicators of the European Commission Internal Market Scoreboard, 98% of the information on public procurement procedures in Hungary is public, Hungarian contracting authorities are legal, because almost all procurement data public are published, negotiated procedures without notice have been on a downward trend in Hungary for years. proportion of total public procurement. Based on the number of offers received, KH also considers that competition is assured: according to data from the last 12 years, an average of 7 offers were received for a procedure, 68% of the value of public procurement was allocated to small companies and 41% of the procedures in Hungary offer partial offers.
According to the announcement, László Kovács, president of the Public Procurement Authority, objected to the shortcomings of the EU’s public procurement database, TED. As long as the EU does not approve of nondisclosure, its database will not be able to compare member states, the president said, adding that findings lacking the rule of law or competition can only be based on credible sources, reliable databases. and research.
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