Debate: Continuing threat to the rule of law, the independence of justice and the non-fulfilment of conditionality for EU funding in Hungary
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: FR

Certaines des questions soulevées dans le cadre de ces trois procédures sont également couvertes par la proposition du Parlement qui a déclenché la procédure article 7. La mise en œuvre des réformes judiciaires et anticorruption requises dans le cadre de ces procédures est en cours. On the 1 June, a new law entered into force in Hungary aimed at addressing the justice-related recommendations of the 2022 Rule of Law Report, reflecting some of the concerns also expressed under the Article 7 procedure. Let me point out key elements of this reform. A strengthened role for the National Judicial Council will allow it to counterbalance the powers of the President of the National Office for the Judiciary, also as regards the careers of judges. The new rules on the Supreme Court will contribute to the transparency of its functioning and will decrease the possibility of political interference. For instance, members of the Constitutional Court can no longer be appointed to the Supreme Court without following the normal appointment procedure. Moreover, the Supreme Court will no longer be able to review the necessity of parliamentary references in criminal proceedings in line with EU law requirements. So, honourable Members, the judicial reform that I just described aims at addressing 4 of the 27 superb milestones included in Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan – those relating to judicial independence. And it is also relevant as regards the horizontal enabling conditions on the Charter. Let me now turn to this horizontal enabling condition. In its decisions adopting the Common Provisions Regulation programmes, the Commission departed from Hungary’s self-assessment and considered that the Charter horizontal enabling condition was not fulfilled, among others, because of concerns related to judicial independence. Other concerns related to LGBTIQ+ and the so-called ‘Child Protection Law’, academic freedom and the right to asylum. As regards judicial independence, the Commission’s decisions made clear that the Charter horizontal enabling condition will be considered fulfilled once Hungary has put in place and applied a number of measures specified in these decisions. These are the same measures included in the four super milestones in the country’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. Under the Common Provisions Regulation, the Commission cannot reimburse any expenditure until the judicial independence part of the horizontal enabling condition of the Charter is considered fulfilled – apart from technical assistance. Moreover, expenditure for specific objectives affected by other deficiencies related to the Charter horizontal enabling condition will not be reimbursed, until those deficiencies are also addressed. On 18 July, Hungary submitted a new self-assessment on its fulfilment of the Charter horizontal enabling condition. This new self-assessment concerns only the judicial independence dimension. According to the legal framework, the Commission has three months to assess this self-assessment. The Commission raised questions during this period because Hungary’s self-assessment left some points open. These questions suspend the three-month deadline. The new Hungarian law of 1 June is an important step in the right direction. However, it is not the end of the process. Hungary also needs to complete the accompanying implementation steps. While a lot has already been done, a few points remain open. That is why, on 1 November, Commissioner Schmit and myself, we have sent a letter to Hungary to seek further clarifications. Again, these questions suspended the three-month deadline for a decision to be taken. Since then, I continue to have a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian Government and they appear committed to provide those clarifications. To conclude, let me assure you that we are not taking these issues lightly and that we are carrying out an objective analysis. We are engaged and continue the discussion with Hungary to ensure that all the necessary reforms are done. If you allow me, Madam President, I will now maybe hand over to my colleague, Johannes, who will provide further information on the general regime of conditionality maybe.