Ahead of the upcoming General Affairs Council meeting on 25 June, the ICJ and other organizations call on EU Ministers in a joint letter to take the Article 7.1 TEU procedure against Hungary forward and issue recommendations. As Hungary prepares to assume the EU Council’s Presidency on 1 July, it is paramount to use the opportunity to lay the foundations for further action to be taken in 2025.
Multiple breaches of Hungary’s compliance with the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU, including the erosion of the independence of the judiciary, escalating corruption, conflicts of interest, attacks on independent media and pluralism, as well as the functioning of the constitutional and electoral systems, and civic space require urgent action.
“The Article 7 procedure against Hungary is an essential legal tool that the General Affairs Council can and should use urgently to protect the rule of law and therefore access to justice in Hungary,” said Karolína Babická, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ.
Hungarian authorities continue to violate human rights and the rule of law, ignoring the multitude of rulings and recommendations from regional and international bodies. Hungary remains under a state of danger and political interference with the judiciary continues to be cause for significant concern.
The ICJ also raises serious concerns regarding the recent closure of the Article 7 procedure against Poland by the European Commission.
The process is vital to ensure that EU Member States adhere to EU values, as stipulated in Article 2 TEU. Article 7 was invoked against Poland in December 2017 by the European Commission in response to the erosion of the rule of law, particularly judicial independence.
The ICJ is convinced that the closure of the procedure this May by the Commission is premature.
“The new government of Poland, apparently having intentions to restore the rule of law protection, has not yet completed all the reforms needed for the successful closure of the procedure,” said Karolína Babická.
The ICJ applauds the initial reforms undertaken by the new government’s new governing coalition and the additional commitments proposed in its Action Plan, but significant work remains to ensure compliance with international and EU legal standards. Poland must still establish safeguards against the arbitrary removals of state media members and restore the independence of the judiciary, including disciplinary procedures for judges. Additionally, Poland’s parliament must approve many aspects of the reform plan.
Read the full letter to EU Ministers here.
Read the annex to the letter here.
For more information, please contact: Karolína Babická, Senior Legal Adviser at karolina.babicka@icj.org
BACKGROUND
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union is a procedure that allows EU Member States to hold a Member State responsible when breaching the Article 2 TEU values.
The procedure is covered by TEU Article 7. It can be enacted when fellow members identify another member as persistently breaching the EU’s founding values (respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities), as outlined in TEU Article 2.
The European Council can vote to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting and representation, as outlined above. Identifying the breach requires unanimity (excluding the state concerned), but sanctions require only a qualified majority. The Council acting by majority may alter or lift such sanctions if it determines that the rule of law is no longer under threat in the target country. The state in question would still be bound by the obligations of the treaties.