Twenty-six members of five European parliamentary groups have called on the European Union to suspend all EU funding to Hungary. According to a representative of the European Commission, the Commission will examine the request, Euronews reports.
The reason why the MEPs asked the European Commission for an immediate suspension of funds is because they believe that Viktor Orbán's government has in recent years severely harmed the rule of law in Hungary.
“We, the 26 members of the European Parliament, are writing to express our deep concern about recent developments in Hungary,” they wrote. The letter was addressed to the Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Piotr Serafin and Michael McGrath, the Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Justiceand Consumer Protection.
“Unfortunately, rather than Hungary making meaningful progress towards meeting the conditions and milestones set out in the December 2022 decisions, we have instead witnessed a series of alarming steps backwards,” they said. In their view, pressure should be stepped up on the government to stop violation EU values and legislation. They highlighted four issues that they consider problematic in Hungary:
- direct government interference in the work of the Integrity Authority;
- the undermining of the independence of the judiciary, which led to a protest by the Association of Hungarian Judges;
- the banning of the Budapest Pride march;
- and the (parliamentary justice commission's) approval of the “law on the protection of sovereignty.”
"The Commission is considering its approach towards the next multiannual financial framework, and we had further discussions on this issue at yesterday's meeting of the College of Commissioners. This included assessing the role of conditionality and respect for the rule of law in this regard," Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy and Justice, wrote in his response.
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