“The special report on Hungary being drawn up by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is the basic document of a conceptual trial”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in reply to a question from reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.
In a statement to members of the Hungarian press, the Minister said the draft report includes assorted lies and factual errors that call into question the credibility of the whole document.
On Wednesday, the EP’s Budget Control Committee (CONT) adopted its opinion on the issue with a large majority. According to Mr. Szijjártó, the decision can only be interpreted as yet another in a series of politically-based attacks against Hungary by certain Brussels institutions.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister highlighted the fact that Hungary’s economic figures have been improving continuously since 2010, and this would not have been possible if systemic corruption mechanisms were in place as put forward by the CONT Committee. “If systemic corruption is present in a country, it is incapable of producing economic indices such as those produced by the Hungarian economy over the past eight years”, he argued.
“I reject in the strongest possible terms the accusations that appear in the Committee’s opinion” he stated.
The CONT Committee will also be adding its opinion to the upcoming LIBE report. The report, which should be voted on in June, is expected to be put before the plenary session of the European Parliament sometime in the autumn, based on which it could initiate Article 7 proceedings against Hungary, also referred to as a “political atomic bomb”, for violating the principles of the rule of law.
The EP’s constitution, cultural and education, budget auditing and women’s rights committees will also be attaching their official opinions to the LIBE report.
Article 7 enables a multi-step procedure that, if fundamental EU values are grossly and methodically violated, could eventually lead to the suspension of a country’s voting rights, but this also requires the unanimous agreement of all the other member states, which according to analysts is practically impossible.
featured image: MTI