Two cheers for the EU’s two in a row against Orbán
14 July 2017
It’s not been the best of weeks for Hungary’s ruling Fidesz regime. First came the swell of condemnation from home and abroad concerning the smear campaign against George Soros with its anti-Semitic billboards plastered all over motorways, metro stations, tram stops and public squares. On Thursday morning the government suddenly announced it would remove the posters from public places from 15 July. On Thursday afternoon came two signals from Brussels that Europe is fast losing patience with the arbitrary and illiberal excesses of Fidesz and its contemptuous disregard for EU law.
The European Commission announced its intent to formally launch an infringement procedure against Hungary for the NGO law, and also announced that it has sent Hungary a “reasoned opinion” letter regarding modifications to the Lex CEU.
NGO law
This announcement will no doubt come as a boost to the NGOs specifically targeted by this rogue piece of legislation; NGOs which have been the target of hostile propaganda attacks by the prime minister and his henchmen.
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, K-Monitor, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International Hungary all vowed earlier to boycott the law. On Wednesday, the Budapest Beacon reported that four more organisations, Autonomia, Civil College, Ökotárs and Reporters Rights Foundations declared their intent to refuse to comply with the law. In a joint statement they declared:
“This law is one of the many measures that fundamentally endanger Hungarian democracy. The law was adopted during the crossfire of anti-civilian government propaganda, without social consultation, despite extensive international and domestic protest, and moreover, with the sole support of the governing party.”
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans seems to share their concerns: “Civil society is the very fabric of our democratic societies and therefore should not be unduly restricted in its work. We have studied the new law on NGOs carefully and have come to the conclusion that it does not comply with EU law.”
The Commission stated that the NGO law interferes unduly with fundamental rights and freedom of association; introduces unjustified restrictions to the free movement of capital; and does not strike a fair balance fair balance between transparency interests and the right of donors and beneficiaries to protect their personal data.
The government has one month to respond, and Timmermans expects it “to engage in a dialogue to resolve this issue as soon as possible.” On current form, it can be assumed that expectations are none too high among Brussels officials.
Lex CEU
The same day the Commission decided to move to step 2 of infringement procedures and send a reasoned opinion to Hungary as regards the compatibility of the Higher Education Law (commonly known as Lex CEU) with EU law.
Despite government protestations to the contrary, even the dogs in the street know this law was drafted with the sole and express purpose of shutting down the Central European University. So blinded by hubris was Fidesz that it was completely taken by surprise at the strength of national and international protest against such an attack on an academic institution, an attack unprecedented in postwar representative democracies.
Timmermans declared that the law “disproportionally restricts EU and non-EU universities in their operations and needs to be brought back in line with EU law as soon as possible”; and said that if the Commission does not get a satisfactory response within a month, it can decide to go to the Court of Justice.
While these steps are welcome, they might not amount to much. There are also two ongoing procedures against Hungary: one for racial segregation of Romani children in schools; and another for non-compliance with its obligations under the 2015 Council Decisions on relocation and resettlement of persons arriving in Italy or Greece. The only hope is that as infringement procedures against Hungary pile up, EU patience will wear thin with Fidesz recalcitrance and precipitate more decisive action from Brussels in defense of democracy.
