Orban Gov't 'Systemic' Rule-Of-Law Offender-EU Justice Commissioner

Outgoing European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders has called Hungary a 'systemic' rule-of-law offender on the day that the Commission released its annual RoL report. Speaking to reporters, Reynders stated that "Hungary is a real systemic issue for the commission about the rule of law,". Within the report, the Commission judged that Hungary had made "no progress" in any of the seven areas highlighted in 2023, which include investigations into high-level corruption, ensuring the functioning of an independent media regulator, and removing obstacles to the functioning of civil society organisations.

• The report has led to critics arguing that EU funds should be suspended to Budapest, and indeed the EUR10.2bn providedin Dec 2023 goes against the EU's rule-of-law standards. Reynders claimed that the provision of funds while Hungary recieves consistent criticism in RoL reports is not contradictory.
• The European Parliament has voiced its opposition, with a plenary resolution in January saying it 'regrets' the Commission's release of funds, but this has had no impact.
• The report comes at a time when Hungary holds the six-month chair of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. Already, the Commission has announced that it will send junior officials to Budapest-organised meetings and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has stripped Hungary of its right to host the next meeting of EU defence and foreign ministers, in opposition to Orban's stance on the war in Ukraine and his meeting with President Vladimir Putin.