Leaders of major EU party groups ask Brussels not to give frozen billions to Hungary

Leaders of the largest European political groups plan to urge Brussels not to unfreeze billions of euros for Hungary until the country completely solves its problems with the rule of law. Source: the draft letter received by Politico, as reported by European Pravda Details: In a draft letter that POLITICO was able to obtain, the leaders of the European People's Party, the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, and the Greens write, "We would like to express our deep concern as regards the imminent positive assessment of the Hungarian judicial reforms."

Although the letter has not yet been published, people with direct knowledge of its contents in all four parties have confirmed that their leaders have signed it or plan to sign it.

Ahead of a crucial summit of leaders this week, where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is threatening to obstruct a significant package of European financial assistance for Ukraine as well as the start of accession talks with Kyiv, the European Commission intends to unblock EUR10 billion in frozen funds for Hungary. The statement continues, "In our opinion, the horizontal enabling conditions have not been fulfilled," alluding to the strict requirements set forth by the European Commission in order to release the funds, among them extensive judicial reforms. EU officials argue that Budapest has complied with the rule of law requirements, and that unblocking the funds is not related to Orban's threats.

But on Tuesday, the Hungarian leader's political director appeared to link Hungary's position to the frozen funds, saying Budapest would continue to block further aid to Ukraine unless the European Commission unlocks all the funds it has blocked. Manfred Weber, Terry Reintke, Stephane Sejourne, and Iratxe Garcia argue in their letter that Hungary hasn't lived up to its commitments to Brussels, so giving in to this request would be a mistake. In particular, the EU conditions include the adoption of legislative amendments to eliminate shortcomings in independence of the judiciary and ensure their application.

The National Judicial Council of Hungary is intended to be strengthened; however, the signatories note that elections for this body are still in progress and are not anticipated to be completed by mid-January. The letter argues that a positive assessment before this date "undermines the purpose of the milestone," given concerns that "the decision making is not independent of the government's interests." "It is impossible to assess whether the National Judicial Council will be independent not only on paper, but also in its composition...

Until that is the case, all reforms strengthening its position could be void," the letter says.

In closing, the letter issues a warning regarding fresh dangers to Hungary's legal system, specifically a "defence sovereignty law" proposal that would "enable the Prime Minister to create a new authority directly under his control, equipped with sweeping powers without any democratic supervision."

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