Hungary’s parliament passed legislation aimed at de-politicizing the courts in an effort to unlock almost half of the funds the European Union has blocked over rule of law and corruption concerns.
(Bloomberg) — Hungary’s parliament passed legislation aimed at de-politicizing the courts in an effort to unlock almost half of the funds the European Union has blocked over rule of law and corruption concerns.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted on Wednesday in favor of the bill bolstering judicial independence. It was filed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government and had received the blessing of the European Commission.
Approval may help Hungary tap €13 billion ($14.3 billion) of EU funds that are part of a €22 billion pot of cohesion money earmarked for the country, EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn told journalists on April 27. Additional measures are needed to tap the rest, as well as €5.8 billion in Covid-recovery funds, he said.
The EU decision in December to withhold Hungary’s funding was the culmination of years of dispute in which Orban — a nationalist firebrand who has become a model for far-right movements worldwide — has railed against Brussels for what he sees as meddling in Hungary’s internal affairs while using its cash to finance a self-styled “illiberal democracy” that spurns the bloc’s liberal, multicultural values.
Hahn met Orban and his key ministers in Budapest on Tuesday to discuss EU funds as part of a tour of the bloc’s capitals. He didn’t issue a statement after the meetings.
Among the changes, the judiciary bill strengthens the remit of a council of judges to supervise the courts, limits the right of the government to make appeals to the Constitutional Court and automates the distribution of cases among judges to avoid meddling.
The tweaks, however, only partially address long-standing concerns, according to the Budapest-based rights organization Hungarian Helsinki Committee. One is that the head of the judiciary may also be elected to lead the council of judges, which is supposed to supervise the courts, spokesman Zsolt Zadori said.
The judiciary reforms are part of a package of 27 demands — so-called super-milestones — imposed by Brussels to address the long-standing concerns over the rule of law and eroding democratic standards. Others include steps to tackle corruption and to protect fundamental rights in the EU, such as academic freedom and asylum and LGBTQ rights.
(Recasts with vote.)
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