On Monday, the Court of Justice of the European Union heard Hungary’s petition for annulment submitted against the Sargentini Report which was adopted with an unlawful vote count procedure. A judgment could be reached in the case that could serve as a precedent at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year, Justice Minister Judit Varga said on Tuesday on Kossuth Radio’s programme ‘Good morning, Hungary’.

The Minister said, according to the government, the European Parliament adopted the Sargentini Report with an unlawful vote count procedure as abstentions were not included upon the adoption of the decision requiring a two-thirds majority which triggered the procedure under Article 7. At the same time, the European Parliament construed the relevant legal rules in such a way that abstentions must be disregarded, and only the yes and no votes must be considered, she added.

Ms. Varga stressed that, pursuant to the regulations, the yes votes cast must account for two thirds of the total votes cast, meaning that abstentions, too, count as votes cast and must be included in the final result.

The Hungarian government argues that without this the freedom of MEPs is curtailed, and in consequence so is democracy as it is the result of a conscious decision whether someone presses the yes, no or abstention button.

“I believe that at a time when […] investigations into the state of the rule of law are being conducted at maximum intensity in the European Union, respecting the principle of the rule of law is a requirement to be met not only by Member States, but equally by European institutions,” she said.

On the programme, she also highlighted that with the development of a network of victim support centres, within five years these services will be conveniently available in every county.

The help received in centres could be financial, legal or psychological, while victims can also be provided with accommodation in sheltered houses, she added.

“What matters most is that the message should reach people that they are not alone, that there is help and this help is absolutely personalised,” Ms. Varga pointed out.

She added that on Monday the website vansegitseg.hu was launched where members of the public can obtain information about the available options.

(Ministry of Justice / MTI)