This report is a piece of war blackmail, and the reason is that time is running out for the EU. Next year, there will be European parliamentary elections, a new Commission will be formed, and they want to put pressure on Hungary before that, Attila Kovács of the Center for Fundamental Rights said in a press conference on Wednesday.

‘In contrast to other indicators, the Hungarian judiciary performs below the European Union average in terms of the perception of its independence. Based on this, we might state that the rule of law conditionality procedure launched against our country is justified. However, the validity of this argument is undermined by the fact that there are no criteria in this area either in which Hungary would not be ahead of several other Member States. For example, the Spanish, Slovak, Bulgarian, Polish, and Croatian public have a worse opinion of the independence of their country’s judiciary than the Hungarian.’

At a conference on Monday, Justice Minister Judit Varga assured everyone that the separation between the judiciary and executive power is enshrined in law in Hungary. She also opined that the current ‘crisis of confidence’ between Hungary and the EU is caused by the continuous unjustified attacks on the country over the years, and not the supposed faults in Hungary’s justice system.

‘Although the outcome is yet unknown, I think that any kind of ascent should start with the (re)construction of the infrastructure to connect the partners. After the completion of this task, we should think about declaring, promoting and following the basic values and principles shared by the Central European countries and nations. These principles will allow us to find a common language, free from the ‘progressive’ ideologies that characterise the West now.’

The fate of a sum of 13.2 billion EUR is at stake in the political and legal debate between the European Commission and the government of Hungary. Parts of the regular EU cohesion and post-COVID recovery funds are being withheld, as the Commission has issues with the state of the rule of law in Hungary. The new law, to enter into force on 1 July, aims to resolve the deadlock.