“Hungary has demonstrated that we can protect our borders and stop inland migration; Life and the facts have proven us right: the immigration policy represented by the Visegrád countries is the correct one”, Minister of Justice Judit Varga said in an interview published in Thursday’s edition of Hungarian political weekly Figyelő.
According to Ms. Varga, statements by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, increased emphasis on the protection of external borders, and political developments in Germany indicate a change in the European Union’s position on immigration.
“In addition, the Dublin reform process has become totally stalled because many West European politicians have also realised the impossibility of forcing measures on member states that infringe on their interests”, the Minister continued, adding that tensions linger in Western Europe, however.
The current primary question for them is what to do with the economic immigrants who “are already there and have no intention of returning home”, Ms. Varga pointed out.
In response to a question about the rule of law and the EU, the Minister explained that according to international legal standards, the responsibility for enforcing the rule of law primarily rests with national institutions such as the Constitutional Court and courts of law, as well as with ombudsmen. This stems from the differing legal traditions of EU member states.
“The issue of the rule of law can be problematic if it is used as a political weapon ‘against states that deviate from the mainstream but represent legitimate political positions’. This is what has been going on in Hungary’s case for years; our political opponents have totally distorted the notion of the rule of law in this process”, Mr. Varga explained, adding that this is best exemplified by the political debate that has developed with relation to the EU’s Article 7 procedure.
“Viewing developments in the EU, I can best summarise the issue with the fact that in their view the rule of law doesn’t work in countries with anti-immigration governments, but is flourishing in places where immigration is being supported”, she stated.
Ms. Varga responded with a resolute no to the idea of linking the principles of the rule of law with the issue of EU subsidies, pointing out that all member states are equal according to the EU’s treaty, and there are no political conditions.
The Minister also spoke about the fact that she can see favourable signs that indicate a shift in the European Commission’s mentality. The new President of the Commission may consider it crucial to understand Central Europe instead of offending the region.
Ms. Varga also spoke about the upcoming bankruptcy procedure code. “Instead of drifting towards bankruptcy, businesses that are struggling with debt and operation difficulties should be helped to remain operable; their goal should be to continue operating Possible liquidation procedure should be speeded up significantly, and a solution must also be found to enable creditors to actually get their loaned money back following a company’s liquidation”, she explained.
With relation to her Ministry’s working group to monitor social media outlets, Ms. Varga explained that the goal is to examine the censorship exercised by tech giants, and explore who has the right to do what, and on what basis. “This is about nothing else than protecting the freedom of speech of Hungarian users’” she declared.
The working group, which will begin operations this autumn, will not draft regulations but analyse the current situation and examine the legal environment. “Because we do not know where our data ends up, or on what basis the opinions expressed by citizens are restricted in a given situation”, she explained.
In response to a question concerning the dispute between the National Office for the Judiciary and the National Judicial Council, Ms. Varga said that she, as the Minister of Justice, cannot to take a stand in the matter, but would like the conflict to be resolved. “The National Office for the Judiciary has begun to actively modernise the operation of courts, as confirmed by European judicial statistics, and we can be proud that Hungary’s justice system is in the European top league in terms of efficiency, speed and digitalisation”, Ms. Varga declared.