Selected rule of law developments ahead of the next Article 7(1) hearing

Corruption in Hungary has been in the forefront of the discussions about the country’s rule of law backsliding in the past months. However, rule of law concerns with regard to Hungary are much more diverse, and while the Hungarian Government has been negotiating with the European Commission in the framework of the conditionality mechanism about anti-corruption measures, it continued to violate rule of law and human rights standards in areas also beyond those covered by this process. These violations in turn fall under the process initiated under Article 7(1) TEU in relation to Hungary in 2018.

Ahead of the Council’s next hearing under Article 7(1) TEU on 18 November, we summarised in a new paper the main rule of law and human rights developments that emerged since the last Council hearing in May 2022 and that fall under the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s mandate, proposing points of inquiry and recommendations in the following six selected areas:

1. Continued attacks against the independence of the judiciary
2. Lack of meaningful consequences for breaching the rules of public consultation on draft laws
3. The Government’s continued excessive regulatory powers
4. Attempts to exert chilling effect on civil society organisations
5. Violating the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants: non-compliance with EU law
6. Curtailing the right to strike and attempting to exert chilling effect on teachers voicing criticism