Human Rights Watch calls for EU action on Hungary
Viktor Orban - Photo EP
(BUDAPEST) - Human Rights Watch urged the European Union Thursday to put more pressure on Hungary including a possible suspension of voting rights to bring the country into line with EU law.
In its latest report on Hungary, the New York-based rights watchdog said parts of the country's new constitution as well as several new laws infringe European Union values.
The HRW said Budapest had shown "contempt for the rule of law" as well as a "continuing failure to comply with recommendations of European institutions".
The EU should take concrete measures against Hungary "including steps towards suspension of voting rights", it added.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government has used the super-majority it won in 2010 elections to bring in a new constitution and a wave of new laws, changes it calls necessary reforms.
The HRW, however, says the changes "weaken legal checks on its authority, interfere with media freedom, and undermine human rights protections".
They also "run counter to Hungary's legal obligations as a member of the EU and the Council of Europe," it added.
Ferenc Kumin, Hungary's deputy state secretary for international communications, criticised the watchdog's report as lacking objectivity and containing "vague and simplistic" statements.
"The Hungarian government has been, and will continue to be, ready to respond to concrete, clearly defined concerns, but cannot address inaccurate statements that are reminiscent mostly of political slogans," Kumin told the MTI news agency
Last week, a European Parliament draft report authored by Portuguese MEP Rui Tavares raised the possibility that Article 7 of the EU Treaty -- which allows suspending voting rights if a country's actions pose a clear risk of a breach of the common values of the EU -- would be activated against Hungary.
"The time has come to put Article 7 on the table, there must be sustained pressure with concrete consequences for member states when they are in violation of EU values," HRW said.
The EU, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, non-governmental organisations both inside and outside Hungary, and the US government have all expressed concern in recent years over changes to the legal framework in Hungary.
Lydia Gall, HRW's Balkans and Eastern Europe researcher told AFP on Thursday that Budapest has "largely ignored" criticism.
"It's time for Hungary to step back and start listening to these organisations," Gall said.
HRW cites in particular new laws and parts of the constitution which it says discriminates against women, churches, homosexuals and homeless people.
It also says Hungary's new media law has encouraged self-censorship among journalists, while the government has sought to reverse binding rulings on fundamental rights by the constitutional court.