Helsinki File: Rule of Law and the EU

The ongoing negotiations between the Government of Hungary and the European Commission regarding the conditions for Hungary’s access to the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility as well as the conditionality procedure under the Regulation to … Read more

As a result of the negotiations between the European Commission and the Hungarian Government following the triggering of the Conditionality Mechanism, 17 specific and one general commitment have been included in the Commission’s proposal for … Read more

The ongoing negotiations between the Government of Hungary and the European Commission regarding the conditions for Hungary’s access to the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility as well as the Conditionality Regulation, triggered by the European … Read more

On behalf of the Hungarian Government, Deputy Prime Minister Semjén submitted two bills to Parliament on 19 July 2022, in the afternoon of the last day of Parliament before it went into summer recess. Both … Read more

On 23 May 2022, the Council will hold its fourth hearing in the procedure initiated under Article 7(1) TEU in relation to Hungary in 2018, with the aim to determine whether there is a clear … Read more

Nine Hungarian NGOs submitted a joint contribution in the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission for its third annual Rule of Law Report. The Commission’s previous Rule of Law Report (pertaining to 2020) identified … Read more

The European Commission’s Rule of Law Report shows severe deficiencies in all the areas examined, confirming the concerns of Hungarian civil society organisations. The Commission has not been able to identify any substantial improvement in any of these areas, which is especially worrying in the light of the fact that Hungary may lose EU funds due to rule of law deficiencies. Eight Hungarian civil society organisations assess the report’s findings regarding Hungary.

Today, there will be a hearing in the framework of the Article 7(1) procedure on Hungary in the General Affairs Council of the European Union. Eighteen months have passed since the last hearing, and during … Read more

18 months have passed since the last hearing was held in the Article 7 procedure. During this time qualitative changes have occurred in the nature of the Hungarian illiberal regime. We look at some of the key issues today’s Article 7 hearing in the General Affairs Council should take into account.

The Advocate General of the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made it abundantly clear that only one forum can legally decide whether a Hungarian judge’s request for a preliminary ruling from the CJEU is inadmissible, and that is the CJEU itself. The opinion of the Advocate General directly affects both the applicability of EU law in Hungary and the independence of Hungarian judges.

No consultation, hasty changes, “reforms” that fail to address Council recommendations: our assessment of certain reforms proposed in Hungary’s national plan under the EU’s recovery and resilience facility (RFF) Hungary was allocated almost 5 900 … Read more

Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, was invited to the expert panel of the Monitoring Group’s session on 29 April 2021 to exchange views on civil society space in the EU, in particular … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee contributed both in 2020 and this year to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report, in collaboration with other Hungarian NGOs. The annual Rule of Law Report is an important … Read more

Eight Hungarian NGOs submitted a joint contribution in the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission for its second annual Rule of Law Report. The Commission’s Rule of Law Report pertaining to 2019 identified substantial … Read more

Six months ago, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that Hungary’s NGO law violates the EU law. To date, however, no steps have been taken by Hungary to comply with the judgment. In the face of this, NGOs recommend 3 steps for the European Commission.

In 2020, the Hungarian government has continued to build its “illiberal state”, and has continued to erode the rule of law in Hungary in almost every area covered by the Article 7 procedure. Our paper presents the “illiberal highlights” that took place in Hungary in 2020.

The European Commission’s Rule of Law Report has identified substantial problems severely threatening the rule of law in Hungary in all four areas examined by the report. Civil society organisations have raised attention to several … Read more

In its Information Note, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee provides an overview of certain rule of law developments in Hungary between May and July 2020, covering concerns pertaining to the justice system and institutional issues related to checks and balances.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled yesterday that the 2017 Hungarian law requiring non-governmental organizations receiving at least HUF 9 million in grants from outside Hungary to register in a special … Read more

Eight Hungarian NGOs, participating in the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission for its first annual Rule of Law Report, trust that the EC will make concrete, enforceable recommendations to EU Member States, hence … Read more