Francesco Volpe – The situation is looking more and more tense in Hungary, where tens of thousands of people protested against the country’s controversial new constitutional laws, only a day after they were approved and came into force. The European Commission, after carrying out an in-depth analysis of the new constitution, pointed out how Budapest incurs infringement proceedings and heavy fines if the constitutional reform desired by Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not be ”in accordance with democratic principles which underpin the European Union”.
The spokesman of the European executive has emphasized that the laws of EU countries ”must reflect and be aligned with the democratic principles and respect for human rights”, concepts that are written in treaties already signed by Budapest and that ”cannot be questioned”.
This reform was authored and passed by the ruling Fidesz party, whose triumphant victory of 2010 elections, gave it the two-thirds majority needed to enact constitutional reform. the new constitution is perceived by the opposition as a threat to democracy, since it abolishes the system of checks and balances established in 1989, when communism fell.
However, the situation is even critical than that, considering that the new laws could also undermine the independence of the Hungarian central bank, the freedom of press and religion, women’s rights, the independence of justice, the jurisdictions of the Constitutional Court and other issues, such as the electoral law. Even the name of the country would change, from “Republic of Hungary” to “Hungary”.
It’s not easy to defined the line between democracy and dictatorship. After opening the infringement procedures, the Budapest government will be given two months to give clarification: if the answers will not be considered adequate, the Commission will send a formal communication of notice that will give a further two months to make the required changes. If the answer will be negative, the Lisbon Treaty allows the Commission to submit the country to the judgement of the European Court of Justice, asking for the sentence, and financial penalties, that may be further aggravated in case of non-compliance.
