Hungary is being bombarded with new infringement and infringement procedures

The European Commission made a decision in relation to several infringement procedures involving Hungary, as a result of which some of the cases will continue in court, and due to the double fuel prices and the grain export ban, the infringement procedure will begin.

While Europe is in the process of falling apart, the Brussels body initiated a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice due to the amendments to the Child Protection Act, Dániel Deák, the XXI. Század Institute senior analyst. He added that the Commission had also sued Hungary over the LGBTQ fairy tale book Meseország yókky, because the authorities required it to include a discriminatory comment. Hungary also has to give an account to the EU court in connection with the deprivation of Klubrádió's frequency. In addition, the Commission initiated the infringement procedure due to Hungarian regulations on grain export restrictions and double fuel pricing, according to Dániel Deák's post.

The European Commission in a press release that on July 15 it decided to file a lawsuit against Hungary at the Court of Justice of the European Union due to a Hungarian law that, in the Commission's opinion, violates the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ persons. Hungarian law prohibits or restricts access to content for those under the age of 18 that promotes or displays "difference from the self-identity corresponding to birth sex, gender reassignment, or homosexuality," the statement reads.

The filing of the lawsuit is the next step in the breach of duty procedure that the Commission initiated against Hungary in the form of a letter of formal notice on July 15, 2021. Since the Hungarian authorities did not provide a sufficiently satisfactory response to the Commission's concerns regarding equality and the protection of fundamental rights, and no commitment was received from the Hungarian authorities regarding the remedy of the conflict of interest, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Hungary on December 2, 2021, according to the Commission press release.

another statement , in relation to EU law, it also covered Hungary and the gasoline price freeze and grain exports. In order to protect the principles of free movement, which are the cornerstone of the EU's single market, the Commission is launching an infringement procedure against Hungary due to the introduction of discriminatory fuel prices for vehicles with foreign license plates, it reads. In addition, the Commission also announced that it will initiate infringement proceedings against Hungary due to the prior notification system introduced by the Hungarian authorities regarding grain exports.

Furthermore, the European Commission decided to file a lawsuit against Hungary at the Court of Justice of the European Union, as it did not dispel the Commission's concerns that the Hungarian Media Council rejected Klubrádió's request for radio spectrum use citing highly questionable reasons.

With today's decision, the European Commission referred two Hungarian cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union and initiated new infringement proceedings in two cases - Judit Varga summarized in her Facebook post on Friday .

According to the head of the Ministry of Justice, to the surprise of the Hungarian government, one of the proceedings was initiated in connection with the case of the Child Protection Act, during which the Hungarian side emphasized throughout that the accusations made by the Commission were baseless.

"We already stated at the beginning that the protection of minors and the guarantee of their undisturbed moral development fall under the competence of the member states, by joining the Union, Hungary did not renounce its sovereignty, but only enabled the joint exercise of certain powers", Judit Varga pointed out, adding: one of these powers at the same time, it cannot apply to changing the values ​​that are part of the national identity, and EU membership in no way affects Hungary's right to make decisions related to the protection of children in accordance with its national identity and within its national competence.

"These values ​​are also protected by the Basic Law of Hungary, so any provision softening the legal institutions regulated at the constitutional level would lead to regulatory practices contrary to the basic law, since the Hungarian state has the duty to protect and enforce the principles and legal institutions fixed at the constitutional level," added the minister.

Judit Varga also complained about the breach of duty procedure, which challenged the official procedures related to the renewal of Klubrádió's media service authorization and the tender and the rejection decisions made there.

"It is important to point out that in the case of Klubrádió, an authority independent of the government made the decision, which was also approved by the independent Hungarian court," stated the head of the ministry, and then reminded that the Hungarian side had previously given clear answers to the Commission's objections.

"At the same time, on the sidelines of the Commission's new infringement procedures, we could only add that, as before, the Hungarian government is ready for constructive legal dialogue, as long as they are still based on mutual respect," pointed out Varga, who believes that the double Hungarian fuel price In response to the Commission's previous inquiry regarding the introduction of the system, the government emphasized that when the measure was introduced, it was applicable to everyone, however, in view of the inflation and war situation that had developed in the meantime, the increasing fuel tourism threatened the security of supply to such an extent that the government withdrew vehicles with foreign license plates from the range of beneficiaries.

The minister also pointed out that the government also sent its preliminary comments regarding the national regulations introducing restrictions on grain exports.

"In relation to both cases referred to the Luxembourg Court, we hope that common sense will prevail and a decision favorable to us will be reached," stated the head of the ministry.

Source: Magyar Hírlap

Photo: Source:: MTI/AP