EMBATTLED HUNGARIAN prime minister Viktor Orban came under sustained attack in the European Parliament yesterday in a debate that went two hours over schedule.
Dispute centred on his country’s new constitution, which was passed last April and came into operation at the beginning of this year.
After the debate, a somewhat docile Mr Orban told a press conference that “the issues at hand will be swiftly resolved.”
He assured everyone that he favoured an opposition in politics, having spent 15 of the past 20 years in opposition himself. “I assure you I am in favour of a political opposition,” he said.
He did not, he said, wish to concentrate on the many factual errors made by MEPs during the debate but added: “I urge you to read the constitution, especially when it comes to the protection of minorities.”
On Tuesday the European Commission launched infringement proceedings against Hungary on three grounds.
These allege that provisions in its laws threatened the independence of its central bank and the independence of its judiciary with the planned forced retirement of approximately 300 senior judges through a reduction of their retirement age from 70 to 62. The commission also alleges that the new laws threaten the independence of Hungary’s data protection authority.
Mr Orban said he had responded to the commission by letter yesterday morning and would be meeting European Commission president José Manuel Barroso in Brussels next Tuesday.
Last night in Strasbourg he told the press conference that where its central bank was concerned “its independence is very important for Hungary as well. There is no disagreement on this with the commission.
“For 20 years no one objected to a government representative on the monetary council, it is not important to us.” He believed there was “a political offensive against Hungary”, but it was “part of politics as usual”.
Those MEPs on the left who were “against the Hungarian constitution hadn’t read the constitution,” he said.
The values of “family, church, personal responsibility”, he said were “very dear to us. They are part and parcel of European culture. We would like to see Europe become more Christian and we should have the right to say so. It should not be a question as to whether we are more (or less) European when we say that”.
As to whether there was a financial offensive against Hungary, he responded: “Of course there is speculation against Hungary as there is against all countries in debt.” But where the EU/IMF was concerned “we don’t need German money or money from the EU. We just want a contingency credit line . . . we need an agreement in principle . . . we don’t need a loan, just precautionary assistance,” he said.
At an earlier press conference in the European Parliament buildings Mr Barroso said that dealing with the Hungarian issue was “a matter where we have to be clear on principle, firm on values, fair in method, and sensible in communication.”
The commission “will be intransigent in the application of European laws,” he said.