The rule of law in Hungary and Poland

Today, MEPs will vote on the rule of law and the situation of ongoing hearings under Article 7 for both Poland and Hungary. The European Parliament initiated the Article 7 procedure for the first time for Hungary, and the Commission has initiated the procedure for Poland. In both cases, limited progress has been made in the Council, which is mandated to follow-up on the next steps.

Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield MEP, rapporteur on the situation in Hungary and Greens/EFA Member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committee, comments:

"The situation in Hungary and Poland is worsening all the time. Be it the Polish government's attempts to interfere in the judiciary or Viktor Orbán's assault on democracy, the EU cannot stand by and watch as the rule of law is stripped away in its Member States. So far the European Commission and the Parliament have initiated Article 7 and now it's time for the Council to do its part to protect the rule of law in Europe. The Council needs to move forward on serious breaches of the rule of law."

"The European Council and the Croatian presidency must take the ongoing Article 7 proceedings with the utmost seriousness and continue to hold hearings as well as indicate what should be the next steps. The European Parliament should be given a proper role in the hearings. The Council must provide key recommendations to the Member States involved and as well as clearly outlining upcoming dates in the Article 7 process. The European Union is a Union of values, built on the rule of law and if we do not support citizens in countries where the rule of law is under attack then the EU will not survive as we know it."