It is astonishing and shocking that, in the present situation when every country is seeking to restart their economies, and for every country guaranteeing people’s lives and health is the top priority, some politicians believe that levelling accusations at Hungary is their number one mission, Justice Minister Judit Varga said.

On Kossuth Radio’s programme ‘Good morning, Hungary’, the Justice Minister highlighted in connection with the attacks levelled at the special legal order introduced in Hungary that during this extraordinary period caused by the coronavirus, every country has adopted extraordinary measures in the interest of protecting the lives and health of their citizens and minimising the economic consequences caused by the epidemic. She added that in this special situation, all Member States face the same challenges, and have adopted comparable measures.

She said on Wednesday, at the meeting of the General Affairs Council, Vice President of the European Commission Vera Jourová stated which principles extraordinary measures must conform to, and that “the Hungarian coronavirus legislation is absolutely compatible”.

Ms. Varga pointed out that the Hungarian legislation complies with the principles of necessity, proportionality and purpose limitation as the primary task is to fight against the harmful effects of the virus and to designate the widest possible framework for the protection of life and health. She drew attention to the fact that the measures also allow for the maintenance of constitutional controls, and offer the Constitutional Court flexible options so that it can continue to exercise its control over the constitutionality of norms. She said the European Commission’s expectation is that Parliament should be able to continuously exercise control, and the Hungarian legislation fully meets this expectation as well.

Regarding the fact that the European Commission is working on a study extending to all Member States which analyses the measures implemented by them, Ms. Varga highlighted that they had prepared a table including all Member States in which they had compared the constitutional frameworks and details of extraordinary measures. She indicated that there are Member States where, in contrast to Hungary, there is no constitutional possibility for introducing a special legal order, and in some places, this must now be “invented”; however, Hungary did not criticise these countries. “We respect the fact that, in this situation, every nation knows what the top priority is and within what legal boundaries they should introduce these measures,” she observed.

The Justice Minister rejected lecturing, whether it comes from senior politicians, EU actors or the media. “Everyone should concentrate on one single goal, conquering the virus, and this requires solidarity and mutual assistance. Also in this department, Hungary is seeking to lead the way,” she pointed out.

Ms. Varga said while the European Commission’s investigation is “yet to be conducted”, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders expressed concern about the situation in Hungary at multiple forums before the investigation.

The Minister indicated that she is preparing for further politically driven attacks against Hungary, but they will be there everywhere, and will defend the Hungarian coronavirus legislation with the aid of the law and facts. She took the view that the attacks on Hungary will not abate, but she sincerely hopes that a debate of a legal nature that is based on facts could also evolve.

Ms. Varga said their experiences show that if there is a political majority will, EU regulations are worth very little. She pointed out that Hungary’s set of arguments is drawing the EU’s attention to the fact that the requirements of rule of law, legal security, non-discrimination and a fair trial also apply to European institutions. These are, however, regularly overruled by the political majority, and at times not even the EU’s institutions observe their own rules. She added that the application of double standards can be traced not only in the assessment of individual Member States, but equally in the relationship between EU institutions and Member States.

(Ministry of Justice / MTI)