Rights Group Urges EU To Take Firm Stance On Hungary's Breakdown Of Rule Of Law

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2022) The European Union must ensure a robust response to Hungary's "systematic breakdown of the rule of law," affecting the bloc's unity, an international human rights watchdog said on Friday in the wake of a hearing under EU's Rule of Law conditionality mechanism against the country.

"On Monday, EU ministers will discuss, for the fourth time, the systematic breakdown of the rule of law in Hungary. This scrutiny, under the process laid out in article 7(1) of the founding treaty of the EU, has been slow and lackluster. Meanwhile, fundamental rights continue to deteriorate in Hungary as its autocratic government entrenches power and jeopardizes the EU bloc's unity," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.

The hearing will be the first since Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party scored a landslide victory in April, garnering slightly over 53% of the vote against 35% of the opposition coalition led by Peter Marki-Zay.

The voting process in Hungary made the OSCE elections observation mission suspicious that the elections were "marred by the absence of a level playing field," the watchdog said.

"The time for hesitant half measures is over. To ensure genuine reforms and a reopening of spaces for independent civic engagement, a bold, concerted, and timebound approach is needed," the watchdog added.

The process against Hungary was launched by the EU four years ago in response to the country's alleged alienation from EU values and was revitalized in April amid continuous claims about Hungary's democratic backsliding. The Rule of Law conditionality mechanism, which assumes that corruption ties directly into the rule of law violations, seeks to prevent European funds from being misused. Meanwhile, under the article 7(1), the EU may temporarily strip Hungary of its voting rights until it fulfills the bloc's recommendations.