9th parliamentary term Gwendoline DELBOS-CORFIELD

. – On 15 June 2021, the Hungarian Parliament voted in favour of amendments proposed by Fidesz MPs that severely restrict freedom of speech and children’s rights. The Law prohibits the ‘portrayal and promotion of gender identity different from sex assigned at birth, the change of sex and homosexuality’ in schools, in television programmes and in publicly available advertisements on any platforms for persons aged under 18, even for educational purposes; the Law disqualifies such content from being considered as a public service announcement or social responsibility advertisement even if intended for adults; the Law introduces amendments to the Child Protection Act, the Family Protection Act, the Act on Business Advertising Activity, the Media Act and the Public Education Act.
I consider this Law to be in breach of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ citizens in Hungary, in particular the freedom to provide services and freedom of movement of goods as set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and E-commerce Directive in conjunction with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Therefore I voted in favour of the resolution ‘Breaches of EU law and of the rights of LGBTIQ citizens in Hungary as a result of the legal changes adopted in the Hungarian Parliament’.

. – Judicial cooperation instruments, such as the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), are based on the principle of mutual recognition, which presupposes that Member States should trust each other when it comes to the proper functioning of justice systems, but also, to complying with fundamental rights. However, the rule of law deficiencies in some Member States are undermining mutual trust and the good functioning of these instruments. The EAW has a direct impact on the lives of the individuals concerned. Its implementation should be assessed in a rigorous manner. I deeply regret that it has not been the case for this report and that some Groups have used their position to bring their own agenda.
I therefore consider some of the demands problematic, such as the idea of a nearly mandatory automatic mutual recognition, and the inclusion of ‘crimes against the constitutional integrity of the Member State’ in the list of 32 crimes for which double criminality is not required. I voted against this report because of these dangerous additions, as the Greens/EFA stand for the development of EU judicial cooperation based on fundamental rights compliance and the rule of law.