An international panel of experts at Concordia University drew public attention to one of the greatest credibility challenges faced by the European Union since its inception: the government of an EU member state – Hungary – has been openly defying the “Rule of Law”, and the core values the Union is formally committed to uphold. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán`s recent policy statement, in which he identified „illiberal” regimes, such as Russia and China, as his government`s role model, has raised the stakes even higher. Some have argued that Hungary is Vladimir Putin`s Trojan Horse within Europe and that the Orbán government’s protracted non-compliance with the “Rule of Law” poses a significant security risk that could destabilize the entire North Alantic community, of which Canada is also a member. The speakers at the Open Forum at Montreal’s Concordia University called for tough new international measures to be applied to Hungary in order to restore respect for the “Rule of Law,” which the EU describes as “the backbone of any modern constitutional democracy”.
Roundtable at Concordia University on March 3, 2015. Photo: CA.
In a recent policy statement on the “Rule of Law” the European Union is quite explicit: “Respect for the rule of law is a precondition for EU membership. Compliance with the rule of law is not only a prerequisite for the protection of all fundamental values listed in Article 2 of the Treaty of Europe but a prerequisite for upholding all rights and obligations deriving from the Treaties and from international law. The confidence of all EU citizens and national authorities in the legal systems of all other Member States is vital for the functioning of the whole EU as an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers”. The panel of experts at Concordia welcomed the strong stance of the Commissioners and urged them to put into practice these principles.
Concordia’s Open Forum carefully examined the validity of the charges levelled against the Hungarian government to ascertain whether they were based on facts or on prejudice. The participants examined the seriousness of the challenge to the “Rule of Law” within the EU and how spill-over effects from the actions of a non-compliant, autocratic EU member state could undermine the stability of countries farther away from the European hub. They explored what options the EU and individual governments of the North Atlantic Community like Canada have to ensure that everyone upholds the values that are common to us all.
András Bozoki, Professor of Political Science at Budapest’s Central European University provided the Open Forum with detailed empirical evidence about the Hungarian government’s “Rule of Law” violations over the past five years. He outlined how the government of Viktor Orbán silenced and controlled the media in his country, eliminated checks and balances, restricted the independence of the judiciary, restricted political competition, and contravened many of the formal principles of the European Union.
Concordia University political scientist and civil rights activist, András B. Göllner, the organizer and one of the speakers at the Open-Forum stated, that “Hungary`s apparently successful defiance could set a dangerous precedent for others not only within the EU but in the broader North Atlantic community. The Hungarian government`s non-compliance with the mandatory rules of membership could seriously undermine public confidence in the ability of these organizations to protect the freedom, security, human and civil rights of people living within their jurisdiction”.
Professor Kim Lane Scheppele of Princeton University, a distinguished expert on EU and Legal Affairs, focused her comments on Europe’s failed attempts to force Hungary to comply with EU regulations and principles and outlined a potential series of powerful new measures, including the withholding of the EU funds that provide the bulk of Hungary’s developmental financing for the coming five years. Scheppele noted that the European Commission can change the way it brings countries to court for violating EU law by focusing on systematic patterns of conduct that contravene European values. “If the Commission keeps focusing on small and specific violations, it will miss the forest for the trees. Instead, the commission should do in the political realm what it already does in the economic realm, which is to focus on patterns of misconduct instead of just small individual problems.”
The Open Forum at Montreal’s Concordia University was sponsored by the University’s Department of Political Science and it’s School of Community and Public Affairs. A video of the full proceedings can be downloaded from You Tube, or by visiting the website of the Hungarian Free Press.
Dr. András Göllner:
Dr. András Bozóki:
Dr. Kim Lane Scheppele
Dr András B. Göllner
Emeritus Professor of Political Science and
International Spokesperson
The Canadian Hungarian Democratic Charter
