BUDAPEST, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government qualified a critical report of the European Parliament's (EP) Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs as a work of George Soros and a tool for putting pressure on Hungary's anti-migrant position.
"The Soros Empire increases the pressure on the Hungarian people," Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Thursday in Hungary in relation to the report.
Members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) discussed the situation of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights on Thursday. Judith Sargentini (Greens, The Netherlands) presented her draft report and called on the Council to find out whether there was a clear risk of violating EU core values in Hungary.
The EP entrusted the LIBE Committee in May 2017 to study the Hungarian situation, in particular the first paragraph of Article 7 of the EU Treaty.
In a then resolution, MEPs considered that the situation in Hungary justified the initiation of proceedings, which could result in sanctions, including the suspension of the Council's voting rights.
However, this sanction needs to be voted in a unanimous vote, and Poland, an ally of Hungary already said it would veto such a sanction.
According to the rapporteur, "the Hungarian people can no longer rely on the fundamental rights that we take granted in the rest of Europe".
"In Europe, we commit ourselves to human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and the common values of human rights. Today, Hungarians cannot be sure their government will treat them equally and honestly. I could not conclude other than there was a need for a procedure under Article 7. We must stand by the Hungarian citizens whose rights are endangered, "said Sargentini.
During the debate, several representatives agreed that Hungarian democracy and the rule of law were threatened by systemic threats and thanked the reporters for their objective attitude towards drafting the draft. Other MEPs demanded that no one should use the procedure for political gain and criticized the attacks on the Hungarian government with broad support.
Szijjarto criticized LIBE for launching an "attack on Hungary just four days after the election."
On April 8, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, secured a third consecutive win in general elections. According to partial official results, his coalition Fidesz-KDNP obtained 134 of the 199 seats of the parliament.
The electoral campaign of Orban was focused against the Hungarian-born American billionaire George Soros. Orban accuses him of orchestrating the international migration process throughout his "Empire", i.e. a series of NGOs linked to Soros' Open Society Foundation.
"Despite the attempts of the Soros network to intervene, despite the attempts by the EU or the EP to intervene, the Hungarians have made a clear decision on their own," Szijjarto said, pointing at the fact that the Hungarian people said a clear no to migration in the election.
He underlined that LIBE had no authority over Hungarian people's decisions, which was the sole right of the Hungarian government: "the Soros Empire, those who intervened in the Hungarian election process, are now extremely disappointed, because despite all of their attempts, Hungarian people have said no to the immigration policy and the parties that took such a stance in the campaign.
He expected the international pressure to be increased on Hungary in Brussels, New York and Geneva, but due to the result of the election, the government will resist with a renewed effort.
He also said that a representative who was in favor of immigration, and who was an advocate of the relocation quota prepared the report of LIBE Committee.
"The protection of our anti-immigration policy and the protection of national sovereignty will continue to be at the heart of the government's policy, no matter what kind of pressure it will endure," Szijjarto concluded.
