Situation in Hungary: follow-up to European Parliament resolution of 10 June 2015

10.11.2015

Question for oral answer O-000140/2015
to the Commission
Rule 128
Claude Moraes, on behalf of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

On 10 June 2015 Parliament adopted a resolution in plenary on the situation in Hungary.

In paragraph 11 of that resolution, Parliament urged the Commission to ‘activate the first stage of the EU framework to strengthen the rule of law, and therefore to initiate immediately an in-depth monitoring process concerning the situation of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary, assessing a potential systemic serious breach of the values on which the Union is founded as per Article 2 TEU including the combined impact of a number of measures exacerbating the state of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, and evaluating the emergence of a systemic threat to the rule of law in that Member State that could develop into a clear risk of a serious breach within the meaning of Article 7 TEU’, and asked the Commission to ‘report back on this matter to Parliament and the Council before September 2015’.

Has the Commission carried out this in-depth monitoring process as requested by Parliament? If not, can the Commission explain the reasons for not having initiated such in-depth monitoring?

Can the Commission provide Parliament with its assessment of the situation of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary?

Has the Commission activated the Rule of Law Framework as called for by Parliament, and if not, can it provide a reasoned argument for not having done so?