On the occasion of the council meeting, justice ministers conducted an exchange regarding anti-corruption measures. According to the majority of Member States, it is worth looking into the legitimacy of an EU strategy or action plan. They took the view that it would significantly contribute to the international role of the EU in the fight against corruption if they were a full member of GRECO.
Minister of State János Bóka stressed that the development of an EU action plan only conveys added value if it means more than just the mere re-packaging of existing mechanisms. The sector-specific tools the Commission has resorted to so far have not proved suitable for promoting the fight against corruption.
In his view, it would be useful if the screening that Member States are subjected to were also extended to EU institutions. One possible way to achieve this is by the EU becoming a full member of GRECO. However, this is only possible if the division of powers between Member States and the EU and the boundaries set by the Treaties are fully respected and observed, bearing in mind that most anti-corruption measures fall within the exclusive competence of Member States.
The Justice and Home Affairs Council agreed on the resumption of talks related to the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, and adopted the supplementary negotiating directives, based on which the European Commission should handle the objections raised by the European Court in connection with the earlier draft of the accession agreement during the accession talks.
On behalf of Hungary, Minister of State János Bóka stressed that, at the end of the day, only the Court of Justice of the European Union can adopt a meaningful position regarding the compatibility of the text of the accession agreement to be re-negotiated with the EU’s Treaties, and therefore we believe it is essential that, after the conclusion of the accession talks, the European Commission should repeatedly seek the position of the EU’s judicial body. In response to a statement issued by the European Commission to a similar effect, Hungary – which has no objection to the resumption of the accession talks – confirmed in a separate written declaration that the conclusion of an accession agreement without the positive opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union would be unacceptable both legally and politically.
At the council meeting, the attending ministers adopted council conclusions on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and conducted an exchange with the Director of the Agency for Fundamental Rights with respect to future priorities and challenges concerning fundamental rights. In his address, Minister of State János Bóka called upon the European Union and the Agency for Fundamental Rights to pay more attention to the protection of national minorities and Christians in the future.
At the council meeting, attendees also adopted council conclusions in connection with Eurojust. In these, the Council expresses its general satisfaction with the functioning of Eurojust, and they draw attention to the fact that in the digital age it is important to lay great emphasis on international cooperation related to cross-border crime. Additionally, they lay down that Eurojust should have access to sufficient funding for the effective fulfilment of its existing and new tasks. In its presentation, Eurojust introduced the newly-launched Judicial Counter-Terrorism Register.
The future of victims’ rights was the topic of the ministerial lunch, as part of which the attending ministers discussed possible directions for the further development of this area. Minister of State János Bóka pointed out that, through the establishment of the European Network on Victims’ Rights, Hungary undertook a leading role in the expert-level coordination of the government agencies responsible for victim protection in the Member States of the European Union. The next step could be the approximation of national compensation systems in order to make the various victim assistance services accessible to as many of the individuals concerned as possible.