EU tells Hungary, Poland to bolster democracy

Brussels — The EU told Hungary and Poland on Wednesday to improve judicial and media independence, as well as anti-corruption safeguards, saying conditions to unlock billions of euros in aid for the two countries remain unaddressed and serious concerns persist.

The assessment came in the EU executive’s new rule-of-law report, which includes tips for democratic improvements in all of the bloc’s 27 member states, from better financial disclosure by officials to digitalisation of public administration.

But eyes are on the two former communist countries where Eurosceptic governments have been fighting increasingly bitter battles with the EU over migration, human rights, environmental affairs and democratic values.

“Russia’s war in Ukraine is another reminder of the importance of our work to uphold and promote rule of law in the EU and beyond,” Vera Jourova, the European Commissioner for values and transparency said in presenting the report. “We can only remain credible if our own house is in order.”

The Brussels-based commission is withholding Budapest’s access to €15.5bn of stimulus funds meant to help lift economies from the Covid-19 dip, and to another €36bn envisaged to Poland, the largest country in the east of the bloc.

The commission has already approved payouts for 25 member countries. Poland is in that group but it has not received any money yet as the commission declines to transfer the funds before the Polish judiciary is fixed.

On Wednesday, it said that “serious concerns persist related to the independence of the Polish judiciary”.

It prescribed separation of the roles of justice minister and chief prosecutor, improving civil society’s access to policy-making and ensuring fair process in deciding on media broadcasting licences.

“This is not about the rule of law,” said Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is also the country’s prosecutor-general and is driving the overhaul of the Polish courts that has left them open to political meddling, according to the EU, human rights groups and international watchdogs.

“It is about power, it is about overthrowing a government that has a democratic mandate in Poland,” Ziobro said.

Budapest has said repeatedly that it was ready to seal a deal with the commission, but the executive has reported insufficient progress from Hungary.

Stand-off

The commission has paid out more than €100bn from the special Covid fund to countries including Spain and Croatia. The Netherlands submitted its spending plan for approval last week after long political infighting at home.

The commission has yet to approve Hungary’s plan but its report said concerns about judicial independence in Hungary “remain unaddressed”.

It recommended that Budapest strengthens the role of its National Judicial Council, as well enhancing the independence of media regulatory authority and adopting “comprehensive reforms on lobbying”.

That comes at a sensitive time for Viktor Orban, long-time prime minister of Hungary, where the forint currency hit record lows against the euro amid double-digit inflation and surging energy costs.

“This leaves Orban with a tricky economic problem to solve, one that would be easier to deal with if he had access to EU funding,” Eurointelligence consultancy said on Wednesday.

In the meantime, Orban has complicated the EU’s efforts to impose sanctions on Russia for waging war on Ukraine, or agree a minimum global corporate tax.

“Hungary and the European Commission ... are approaching the mutually damaging stalemate stage of their stand-off over rule of law,” Eurointelligence said.

Reuters