The rule of law is increasingly used as “a political weapon” which will eventually “discredit it as a generally shared value,” Justice Minister Judit Varga highlighted in an article published on the website of the news network Euronews on Tuesday.
The Justice Minister pointed out in the context of proposals about the monitoring of the state of the rule of law within Member States of the European Union and conditionality in connection with the awarding of community funds that, in her view, these are utterly contrary to the Treaties as the European Commission does not have general competence in these fields.
“The fact that you want to do something doesn’t give you the right to do so. Those who set out to defend rule of law should know this best,” she stated.
The rule of law is not a set of universally applicable objective criteria, lacks well-defined rules and is the subject of much debate. Therefore, concern for the rule of law should pay greater respect to the specifics of Member States, and should not try to impose an artificial, one-size-fits-all framework, the Minister stressed.
She took the view that, in actual fact, the debate is not about democratic principles. She underlined that restoring the natural balance between individual liberty and community interests does not violate the rule of law which can be upheld despite the fact that a Member State pursues a strict migration policy.
There are differences in how we relate to the Christian roots of Europe, in the role of nations and national cultures, in “how we see the nature and mission of families in our societies, and in our approaches to migration”. But to claim that a Member State no longer belongs to the community of values at the heart of the EU simply because it holds different positions on issues like this would create a dangerous precedent and undermine the very foundations of European integration, she wrote.
“The EU must focus on the real challenges before us. Sometimes this requires the courage not only to ask the right questions but also the courage to say no,” Mrs Varga pointed out.