In Novi Sad, where he delivered a speech on the justice policy of the Hungarian government, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi spoke to a reporter from Hungarian news agency MTI.

He said that the European Commission has not found any substantial failings in the Hungarian institutional system. In the letter of formal notice addressed to Hungary opening an infringement procedure concerning the recently adopted Hungarian asylum legislation, the European Commission objected only to some “technical” aspects related to the application of regulations, he said.

Budapest first received a letter from the European Commission (EC) in October, in relation to all points of the Hungarian asylum legislation. Hungary responded in a forty-page letter, and the EC’s reply to this arrived on Thursday. According to Minister Trócsányi, there are no questions of principle, but some concerns in relation to application of the law.

The letter refers to questions such as translation and interpretation services. As stated by the EC, there is a concern over the Hungarian law on fast-tracked criminal proceedings for irregular border crossings. The suggestion has been made that current practice does not respect the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings as required by the relevant Directive, which stipulates that persons unfamiliar with the language should be provided with a written translation of all essential documents. The Minister explained that “However, it should be understood that when proceedings are brought to a close and the ruling is read aloud by an interpreter, the applicant is asked whether they wish to wait for the written translation; at this point this offer is routinely declined by the applicant”.

Croatia and Greece have been the target of far more serious objections from the European Commission, including violation of the Dublin Regulation.“Hungary has respected the Dublin Regulation and has also kept to the code on Schengen borders. The content of the letter sent by the EC can be easily dealt with, and it does not represent an attack which could pose a problem for the Hungarian government. Hungary and the Hungarian government can take assurance from this”, the Minister stated.

Mr. Trócsányi mentioned the legal challenge which has been filed by Hungary against the migrant quota system; he described the challenge as a legal document of such high quality that it should not be ignored by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Minister of Justice added that it contains concrete and serious argumentation, and for this reason the Court should pass a judgement which sets a precedent. “At the time of judgement, the Court should acknowledge that the proposed legal instrument (the quota system) will not work in practice” the Minister added.

(Ministry of Justice)