EU justice chief laments democratic standards in Hungary

Key Points

• The EU justice commissioner reported virtually no progress in Hungary over the past year on democratic backsliding and rule of law concerns.
• Key shortcomings highlighted include party financing irregularities, secret surveillance, limited media pluralism, excessive use of emergency powers, and pressure on judges and civil society.
• The only improvement noted was a significant rise in judges’ and prosecutors’ salaries, which nevertheless fell short of European standards for judicial remuneration.
• About €18 billion in EU loans and grants remain blocked due to these rule of law issues, and the European Commission is prepared to take further measures if needed.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hungary has made virtually no progress in addressing European Union concerns about democratic backsliding over the last year, the EU's justice commissioner said Tuesday, as he unveiled the bloc’s annual rule of law report.

The section on Hungary highlighted concern about party financing, secret surveillance, media pluralism, the excessive use of government emergency powers, as well as pressure put on judges and members of civil society, among other shortcomings.

The only positive noted was “significant progress” in increasing the salaries of judges, prosecutors and other legal staff. But even that was done without proper consideration for “European standards on remuneration for the justice system.”

“It is deeply disappointing that we’re not in a position to report further progress on the recommendations that have been made last year,” Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

“We stand ready to take further steps, in relation to Hungary, as necessary,” he said, but did not elaborate on what those measures might involve. The European Commission proposes EU laws and supervises whether they are respected.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s stridently nationalist government has become a pariah among the 26 other EU member countries. It has consistently sought to veto support to Ukraine, although the rest of the EU has begun to bypass Hungary.

For the last decade, tensions have simmered between Orbán and the EU’s powerful executive branch, from his handling of migrants in 2015 to last month’s Budapest Pride event which saw marchers risk possible arrest and heavy fines to take part.

In 2022, the European Commission blocked substantial amounts of money out of concern that Orban’s government might put the EU budget at risk.

“Approximately 18 billion euros ($21 billion) of loans and grants are not available to Hungary because of rule of law issues. I wish it were otherwise,” McGrath told reporters.