Articles for category: Ungarn

Sham and Smokescreen

Since 27 April 2022, Hungary has been under the Rule of Law conditionality mechanism, introduced by the Conditionality Regulation. After various debates and considerations, and in the light of the blackmailing potential of the Hungarian prime minister, the Regulation, in a weaker form than initially proposed, works as a preventive tool for ensuring the protection of the EU budget and sound financial management of EU resources. The Hungarian government has a record of misleading (and betraying) the European Union, and apparently, it is not different now.

5. Oktober 2022

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Defective Judicial Appointments in Hungary

In recent years, a series of irregularities have been revealed in relation to judicial appointments in Hungary which have compromised judicial independence and raised serious rule of law concerns. These problems have been highlighted by various domestic and international stakeholders, and issues in the judiciary have become a core chapter in negotiations between Hungary and the EU within the framework of several rule of law mechanisms. The latest round of debates revolves around judicial appointments made by Chief Justice Varga to the Supreme Court which again raise the problem of institutional manipulation of the rules safeguarding the independence of the judiciary.

27. September 2022

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How to Deal With Evil Law in Hungary and Elsewhere

The Hungarian authoritarian regime that arose in the populist wave of societal processes accompanying the 2008-2009 economic and financial crisis has created a legal system in Hungary which is flawed and compromised in numerous ways. But is it valid? Can the law this regime put into force be accepted as law at all? It appears that, with a few exceptions, the debates on restoring constitutionalism have not addressed this issue in depth. This article intends to demonstrate that the Hungarian legal system does indeed lack validity. To argue my point, I am using a simple formula that is easy to articulate and has symbolic meaning for practice in dark times.

19. September 2022

Will the Commission Throw the Rule of Law Away in Hungary? 

The Hungarian government is publicly saying that it is nearing a deal with the European Commission to unlock the Recovery Funds that have been withheld because the Commission has not yet approved Hungary’s plan for spending those funds.    Apparently, Hungary has agreed to four conditions that will allow the €7bn worth of grants and about €8bn in low-interest loans to be approved.  But if those are any indication of the price that the European Commission will extract for comprehensive violation of the rule of law, the European Commission is making a colossal mistake.

11. Juli 2022

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The Role of Referenda in Orban’s Regime

Following the parliamentary elections and the national referendum in April 2022, the OSCE found that the legal framework was inadequate for the conduct of a democratic plebiscite. Even though the observers noted several shortcomings of the legal regulation and documented many serious anomalies of the electoral system, they failed to put their analysis in a broader political and legal context. The aim of this short piece is to briefly describe the role that the referenda play in Orbán’s regime.

18. Juni 2022

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Competition and Conditionality

On 5 April 2022, just two days after the Hungarian national elections, the European Commission formally announced that it would apply the conditionality mechanism enshrined in Regulation 2020/2092 in relation to Hungary. In the past the Commission has frequently addressed issues related to “systemic irregularities, deficiencies and weaknesses in public procurement procedures”. In Hungary, however, it has not probed the enforcement of competition (cartel) law in public tender procedures. The Commission should seize the opportunity to act in this area.

2. Juni 2022

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Illiberals of the World Unite in Budapest – Yet Again

Despite their strong localist and nativist inclinations, traditionalism does not turn illiberal democrats and autocrats against international cooperation, and their political ambitions do not halt at disrupting the operation of supranational organizations. Rather, they use both ad hoc opportunities and a regularly recurring annual events for networking. What marks these occasions is the careful selection of trusted participants based on strong personal connections, along shared values across different religions and continents.

26. Mai 2022

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What Culture Wars Hide

The American Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) is meeting in Budapest on 19-20 May. The meeting signals that US conservatives have chosen Hungary as proof of concept for the politics they want. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is proudly illiberal and proudly politically incorrect. Having won his fourth consecutive election in April with his largest parliamentary majority yet, Orbán demonstrates to American conservatives that his brand of politics can triumph.

19. Mai 2022

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Never-Ending Exception

The planned 10th amendment to the Hungarian constitution aims to rewrite the current rules of Article 53, which allows the government to declare a state of danger (and rule by decree as it did during the last two years) in the event of a natural or industrial disaster endangering lives and property, or to mitigate the consequences thereof. According to the proposed new rules, the government will also be able to declare this kind of emergency ‘in the event of armed conflict, war or humanitarian catastrophe in a neighbouring country’. This is just the latest chapter in the story of the democratic and rule-of-law backsliding in Hungary.

10. Mai 2022

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From Shrinking to Closing Civil Society Space in Hungary

In a classy late Friday dump, on April 8, 2022, the National Election Commission fined over a dozen Hungarian civil society organizations for illegally interfering with the referendum held on election day (April 3, 2022). These NGOs ran a month-long campaign encouraging voters to cast invalid votes in response to the government’s referendum question. Altogether the fines add up to 24.000 EUR: the leaders of the campaign, Háttér Society for LGBTQI rights and Amnesty International Hungary were fined approx. 8.000 EUR each. The NEC found that encouraging voters to cast invalid ballots amounts to an abuse of rights, as it defeats the purpose of exercising popular sovereignty through a popular referendum.

10. April 2022