Orbán won’t go to Hungary’s rule of law debate in the EP – why?
The report on the rule of law in Hungary will soon be debated in the European Parliament, and will be voted on Thursday. However, neither Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, nor any member of the government will take part in the debate. But why?
No government members will be present
Not a single member of the Hungarian government, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will take part in the debate on the report on the rule of law in Hungary in the European Parliament. Magyar Hang wrote that Orbán will not be travelling to Strasbourg, based on information from the EP’s Media Service. They added that not only will Orbán not be there, but no member of the government will be present.
That means that Hungarian arguments from the government side will not be heard in the debate. However, there will be Hungarian speakers, according to the newspaper: Katalin Cseh (Momentum) and Márton Gyöngyösi (Jobbik) will participate in the debate.
What is the reason?
Telex asked Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, why Orbán and the other members of the government are skipping the debate. Havasi replied:
“Because no invitation was received.”
This recent report, by Green Party politician Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, criticises the following facts:
- corruption levels remain high;
- significant public funding flows to pro-government media, creating an unlevel playing field;
- on the functioning of democratic institutions, they point out that “the lack of public consultation and the accelerated legislative process have further weakened the quality of the regulatory environment”.
Source: Telex, Magyar Hang