The Justice Minister described the Brussels hearing on Monday as a pro-immigration revenge campaign at a press conference held in Brussels.

Judit Varga was heard by the General Affairs Council in the procedure instituted against Hungary under Article Seven.

For more than a year, a political witch-hunt has been pursued against Hungary for the simple reason that the Hungarian people said no to migration repeatedly. The hearing was yet another station of the revenge campaign of pro-immigration forces, she stated.

She added that they had taken a major step forward, with a view to defending Hungary.

The well-known, unfounded, untrue claims that have no foundations in reality were repeated by the pro-immigration, liberal elite, which are continually echoed by the liberal media primarily in Western Europe, the Justice Minister said.

“We factually refuted each and every claim and false allegation. We cleared up every single legal issue. We rejected double standards, and I repeatedly drew attention to the fact that we are talking about a decision which itself stands in violation of the rule of law,” Mrs Varga said.

A procedure was instituted against Hungary on the basis of a non-existent decision as the pro-immigration majority of the European Parliament adopted it last September in an unlawful manner. The procedure is contrary to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Rules of Procedure the European Parliament, she said.

The debate on the rule of law would require less of a political focus, and more professional attention. If the procedure were not being conducted in response to a political order, it could be brought to a conclusion with immediate effect, Mrs Varga said.

Hungary has defended Europe, Christian culture, the European identity and the European way of life for centuries. A Member State such as Hungary should be supported, not attacked, the Justice Minister added.

In September 2018, the European Parliament adopted a position in which it recommended for the Council to establish on the basis of Article 7(1) of the Treaties of the European Union that in Hungary there is a clear threat of the violation of the EU’s core values.

The Hungarian government described the Sargentini report and its adoption as politically motivated revenge with which the European Parliament’s pro-immigration majority sought to punish Hungary due to its position rejecting migration and the mandatory quotas.

The report compiled by Dutch green-party MEP Judith Sargentini levelled criticisms at Hungary in connection with the state of the rule of law in Hungary, including the functioning of the constitutional and electoral systems, the independence of the judiciary, corruption, freedom of expression and academic freedom.

(MTI)