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Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Sham
Hungary’s persistent rule of law and corruption shortcomings have led the EU to freeze EUR 27.8 billion in funding under various conditionality regimes. Prime Minister Orbán, who relies on these funds to maintain his political machinery and reward loyalists, has wielded Hungary’s veto in the Council to unlock this funding. Moreover, Hungary adopted the Act LXXXVIII of 2023 on the protection of national sovereignty (Sovereignty Law), which sets up the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), a state entity created to defend Hungarian sovereignty. This post examines the Sovereignty Law and calls the EU to effectively halt the SPO’s activities and prevent this model from spreading elsewhere.
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Hungary’s Shambolic Anticorruption Proposals
The Article Useless and Maybe Unconstitutional: Hungary’s Proposed Judicial Review of the Prosecutorial Decisions by Kim Lane Scheppele, Petra Bárd and Gábor Mészáros gives a detailed account of the proposed legislation on amending the Hungarian Criminal Procedure Code. The conclusions of the article are correct and most of the criticism is accurate. Yet the article misses some real weaknesses of the Hungarian government’s proposal. This article aims to point out these weaknesses from the viewpoint of a practicing Hungarian criminal lawyer.
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Hungary, Poland and the “Community of Fate”
In February 2022, the ECJ delivered a ruling in cases brought by Hungary and Poland against the European Parliament and Council. Not only did the ruling uphold the regime of conditionality for the protection of the EU budget; it also entered into the domain of European constitutional identity. Instead of undermining the European commitment to the rule of law, Poland and Hungary may have inadvertently consolidated the place of rule of law in the heart of EU identity.
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Hungary’s Lesson for Europe
There seems to be a disturbing discordance in the European Commission’s response to the Hungarian elections. On the one hand, the Commission triggers the rule of law mechanism. On the other, it refuses to comment on the fairness of the Hungarian elections. This contradicts the fact that, just like the rule of law, democracy is also part of Europe’s constitutional identity. But what does democracy require from Member States? Hungary’s elections make clear that the value of democracy, as given expression in Article 10 TEU, should be justiciable.
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Hungary’s Struggle: In a Permanent State of Exception
The Hungarian government has called for a referendum on EU relocation quota plan and declared a “nationwide migrant crisis”. The justification given by the government for these measures was the “massive immigration” which “endangers the jobs of Hungarians and redraws Hungary’s cultural and religious identity”. The argument went that, due to a “migrant crisis” the Hungarian government needed a greater room for maneuvre, not limited by constitutional constraints, in order to manage the crisis. This argument presupposes that, as a result of the migrant crisis, Hungary has ended up in a state of exception, when constitutional guarantees have to be limited or suspended; essential powers have to be concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, until the crisis is overcome.
Continue reading >>Hungary and the Pandemic: A Pretext for Expanding Power
A year ago, the first lockdowns were introduced in Europe. Since then, European governments have been busy introducing COVID-19 containment measures, including social distancing rules and mask mandates. For two months, they have been vaccinating the people. Ostensibly, the EU countries have taken similar steps. This piece provides a sketch of how the Hungarian government has handled the pandemic.
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Hungary’s Orbánistan: A Complete Arsenal of Emergency Powers
On 23 March 1933, an act was adopted in Nazi Germany in response to the “crisis” of the Reichstag fire to enable Hitler to issue decrees independently of the Reichstag and the presidency. Article 48 of the constitution of the Weimar Republic made this act possible. Eighty-seven years later, on 23 March 2020, the so-called 'Enabling Act' was put before the Hungarian Parliament. This was drafted under emergency constitutional provisions in Articles 48-54.
Continue reading >>Hungary: Taking Action
The Hungarian Parliament has enacted a package of constitutional amendments […]
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Could Hungary be suspended from Schengen?
In early July, the Orbán government announced that it would extend a program that grants third country nationals simplified access and stay to work in Hungary to Russian and Belarussian nationals. This blog maps the ways in which Hungary’s policy might undermine the security of the Schengen area and surveys the tools Member States and EU institutions have at their disposal to counter it. Should the Hungarian government fail to dispel the concerns raised by its extension of the national card system, these mechanisms should be activated to safeguard the security of the Schengen area.
Continue reading >>The Hungary Files
The battle over the rule of law in Hungary is coming to a head. Two separate but related dossiers landed on the EU Council’s agenda on Tuesday, 6 December: firstly, whether to suspend 7.5 billion Euros in funds under the EU’s cohesion policy under the new rule of law conditionality mechanism; and secondly, whether to approve the Hungarian national recovery and resilience plan. Both files are currently stuck in a political limbo as the member states cannot agree on a common course of action, complicated by the fact that Orbán is holding his veto over Brussel’s head on an aid package for Ukraine and a global corporate tax, both of which require unanimity in the Council. Now the question is: Who will move first, Orbán or the other member states?
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