Infringement of the equality of religious communities in Hungary
20.11.2014
Question for written answer E-009580-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Péter Niedermüller (S&D)
According to Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, ‘the Union is founded on the values of respect for … the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.’ These rights include the right to express religious convictions freely and exercise them without discrimination.
The Hungarian legislature and government have shown no regard for these principles in the past few years and have created a new church regulation that has disadvantaged some of the formerly recognised churches. In its judgment of 8 April 2014 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that in respect of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the religious communities’ freedom of thought, assembly and association was violated by the new church law having deprived them of their church status.
The Court rejected the Hungarian Government’s appeal on 9 September 2014, as a result of which the judgment became final. Despite this, the Hungarian Government and Parliament have done nothing to remedy the violation of rights.
I am therefore asking the following questions:
- 1.Is the Commission aware that the Hungarian Government and legislature are arbitrarily denying the equal status of some of the churches regardless of the fact that the ECHR has found this to be illegal?
- 2.What means are available to the Commission for abrogating legal regulations that violate the EU’s basic values and possibly even its law?