BETA

59 Amendments of Edit BAUER related to 2012/2130(INI)

Kinga GÁL, Edit BAUER, László TŐKÉS, Csaba SÓGOR

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas the ~~scope of Article 2 TEU is not restricted by the lim~~Charter does not apply to every situation of ~~Article 51(1) of the Charter and the scope of Article 7 TEU is not limited to the policy areas covered by~~an alleged violation of fundamental rights as according to Article 51(1) it applies to Member States only when they are implementing EU law, a~~nd whereas as a consequence the EU can also act in the event of a breach of, or a clear~~s repeatedly stated by Vice-President Viviane Reding in the former replies to MEPs when rais~~k of a breach of, the common values in areas falling under Member State's competenc~~ing concrete breaches of fundamental rights in Member States;

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital AQ

~~AQ. whereas the independence of the Constitutional Court is not set forth in the Fundamental Law of Hungary and neither is the independence of the autonomous administration of the judiciary;~~deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital AY

AY. whereas, while considering voter registration for citizens residing abroad as justified, the Constitutional Court in its decision of 4 January 2013 further held that exclusion of the possibility of personal registration of voters without an address living in Hungary is discriminatory and that the provisions allowing the publication of political advertisements only in the public media service during the electoral campaign, and the rules banning the publication of public opinion polls within six days before the elections, disproportionally limit freedom of expression and freedom of the press,deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Kinga GÁL, Edit BAUER, László TŐKÉS, Lívia JÁRÓKA

Motion for a resolution
Recital BS a (new)

BSa. whereas the Hungarian government adopted the Act CCIII of 2011 (currently Act XXXVI of 2013) on the elections of the Members of Parliament of Hungary, which allows minority representatives for the first time to gain a seat in the Parliament, thus finally assures the political representation of minorities, requested over almost for two decades; and whereas the adopted Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the Rights of Minorities recognises and guarantees rights to its thirteen recognised nationalities and their members in the main areas of interest for the protection of their identity - education, culture, private and public use of the mother tongue, access to media and participation - and aims to improve and strengthen the available institutional arrangements for nationality self- government in these areas; and whereas in its Opinion CDL-AD(2012)011 the Venice Commission confirms that "Hungary has continued to pay particular attention to the promotion and protection of minority rights and to make specific efforts to ensure protection and preservation of the ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity, traditions and cultural heritage of its nationalities";

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital BU

BU. whereas the lack of reaction by the law enforcement authorities in cases of racially motivated crime12 has resulted in mistrust of the police forces; __________________ 12 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (A/HRC/20/33/Add. 1)deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital BW

BW. whereas, although intolerance against the members of Roma and Jewish communities is not a problem solely associated with Hungary and other Member States are faced with the same predicament, recent events have raised concerns as to the increase in anti-Roma and anti-Semitic discourse in Hungary;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital CC

CC. whereas the Constitutional Court in that Decision, while not questioning the right of the parliament to specify the substantive conditions for recognition as a church, considered that the recognition of church status by a vote in Parliament might result in politically biased decisions, and whereas the Constitutional Court declared that the Act did not contain any obligation to provide detailed reasoning of a decision which refuses recognition of church status, that no deadlines were specified for the parliament's actions and that the Act did not ensure the possibility of legal remedy in cases of refusal or lack of a decision;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Recital CD

CD. whereas the Fourth Amendment to the Fundamental Law, adopted two weeks after the decision of the Constitutional Court, amended Article VII of the Fundamental Law and elevated to the level of the constitution the power of the parliament to pass cardinal laws to recognise certain organisations engaged in religious activities as churches, thus overruling the Constitutional Court's decision;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Regrets that the process of drafting and adopting the Fundamental Law of Hungary lacked the transparency, openness, inclusiveness and ultimately the consensual basis that could be expected in a modern democratic constituent process, thus weakening the legitimacy of the Fundamental Law itself,deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Takes note of the above-mentioned Decision of 28 December 2012 of the Constitutional Court declaring that the Hungarian Parliament exceeded its legislative authority when it enacted a number of transitional provisions of the Fundamental Law containing permanent and general rules,deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Strongly criticises the provisions of the Fourth Amendment to the Fundamental Law, which undermine the supremacy of the Fundamental Law by reintroducing in its text a number of rules previously declared unconstitutional – i.e. incompatible on procedural or substantive grounds with the Fundamental Law – by the Constitutional Court;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Considers that the extensive use of cardinal laws to regulate areas that are covered by ordinary laws in most Member States or to set forth very specific and detailed rules undermines the principles of democracy and the rule of law as it has enabled the current government, which enjoys the support of a qualified majority, to set in stone political choices with the consequence of making it more difficult for any new future government having only a simple majority in the parliament to respond to social changes and thus of potentially diminishing the importance of new elections;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that use of the individual members' bills procedure to implement the constitution (through cardinal laws) does not constitute a transparent, accountable and democratic legislative process as in practice it restricts public debate and consultation, and that it could run counter to Fundamental Law itself, which makes it an obligation for the government (and not individual members) to submit to the parliament the bills necessary for the implementation of the Fundamental Law;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that the limitation of constitutional jurisdiction relating to the laws on the central budget and taxes is in contradiction with the requirements of democracy, the rule of law and the principle of judicial review, as it weakens the institutional and procedural guarantees for the protection of a number of constitutional rights and for controlling the parliament's and the government's powers in the budgetary field;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Considers that after the entry into force of the Fourth Amendment the Constitutional Court can no longer fulfil its role as the supreme body of constitutional protection as the legislature is now entitled to modify the Fundamental Law as it wishes even in the case of the constitutional amendments contradicting other constitutional requirements and principles;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Is also extremely concerned about those provisions of the Fourth Amendment which repeal 20 years of constitutional jurisprudence, containing an entire system of founding principles and constitutional requirements, including any potential case-law affecting the application of EU law and of European human rights law;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Criticises the accelerated process of enacting important laws as it undermines the rights of the opposition parties to be effectively involved in the legislative process, thus limiting their scrutiny of the majority's and the government's action and ultimately negatively affecting the system of checks and balances;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

~~21. Welcomes the fact that the Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Hungary over the independence of the data protection supervisor;~~deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Deplores that the above-mentioned institutional changes resulted in a clear weakening of the systems of checks and balances required by the rule of law and the democratic principle of the separation of powers;deleted

2013/05/22
Committee: LIBE

Kinga GÁL, Edit BAUER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45

45. UWelcomes the adoption the Act CCIII of 2011 (currently Act XXXVI of 2013) on the elections of the Members of Parliament of Hungary enabling minority representation and the Act CLXXIX of 2011 on the Rights of Minorities, as well as the firm stance and zero tolerance of the Hungarian government against any racist incidents, against all form of intolerance and positive steps taken - such as criminalising Holocaust-denial, establishing the Holocaust Remembrance Day, introducing Roma and Jewish history in national curricula or dedicating 2014 as the Hungarian Holocaust Memorial Year - which further strengthen the system of minority protection in Hungary, and which could serve as a model for many other Member States within the EU; underlines that the authorities in all Member States have a positive obligation to act to avoid violation of the rights of persons belonging to minorities and cannot remain neutral when faced with such violations;

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Heading II - Subheading 6

~~Freedom of religion and recognition of churches~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46

46. Notes with concern that the modifications introduced in the Fundamental Law by the Fourth Amendment attribute to the parliament the power to recognise, by way of cardinal laws and without the constitutional duty to justify a refusal of recognition, certain organisations engaged in religious activities as churches, which might negatively affect the duty of the State to remain neutral and impartial in its relations with the various religions and beliefs;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51

51. States that it is ready – and calls on the Council and Commission to also be prepared – in the event that Hungary does not implement the recommendations set out in paragraph 61, to take action under Article 7(1) TEU to determine the existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the common values of the Union as set out in Article 2 TEU;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57

57. Notes with disappointment that the European Council is the only EU political institution that has remained silent, while the Commission, Parliament, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and even the U.S. administration have voiced concerns over the situation in Hungary;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 59

59. Invites the President of the European Council to inform Parliament of his assessment of the situation and rapidly engage in consultations with the President of Parliament and the President of the Commission;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 60 – indent 14

– to address the issue of the conformity with EU law of the new provision of the Fourth Amendment enabling the Hungarian Government to impose a special tax in order to implement EU Court of Justice judgments entailing payment obligations when the state budget does not have sufficient funding available and when the public debt exceeds half of the Gross Domestic Product, and to suggest adequate measures to prevent what may result in a breach of sincere cooperation as enshrined in Article 4(3) TEU.deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Heading III - Subheading 5

~~Recommendations to the Hungarian Authorities~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61

61. Urges the Hungarian authorities to implement the following recommendations without any further delay, with a view to fully restoring the rule of law and its key requirements on the constitutional setting, the system of checks and balances and the independence of the judiciary, as well as strong safeguards for fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, media and religion and the right to property: On the Fundamental Law: – to fully restore the supremacy of the Fundamental Law by removing from it those provisions previously declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court; – to fully apply the recommendations of the Venice Commission and, in particular, to revise the list of policy areas requiring a qualified majority in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and with a view to ensuring future meaningful elections; – to secure a lively parliamentary system which also respects opposition forces by allowing a reasonable time for a genuine debate between the majority and the opposition and for the participation of the wider public in the legislative procedure; On checks and balances: – to restore the right of the Constitutional Court to review all legislation without exception with a view to counterbalancing parliamentary and executive actions and ensuring, through full judicial review, that the Fundamental Law always remains the supreme law of the land; – to fully restore the prerogatives of the Constitutional Court as the supreme body of constitutional protection, and thus the primacy of the Fundamental Law, by removing from its text the limitations on the Constitutional Court’s power to review the constitutionality of any modifications of the Fundamental Law as well as the abolition of two decades of constitutional case-law; – to restore the case-law of the Constitutional Court issued before the entry into force of the Fundamental Law, in particular in the field of fundamental rights1; – to restore the prerogatives of the parliament in the budgetary field and thus secure the full democratic legitimacy of budgetary decisions by removing the restriction of parliamentary powers by the non-parliamentary Budget Council; – to provide clarifications on how the Hungarian authorities intend to remedy the premature termination of the term of office of senior officials with a view to securing the institutional independence of the data protection authority; On the independence of the judiciary: – to fully restore and guarantee the independence of the judiciary by ensuring that the principles of irremovability and guaranteed term of office of judges, the rules governing the structure and composition of the governing bodies of the judiciary, as well as the safeguards on the independence of the Constitutional Court, are enshrined in the Fundamental Law; 1 See Working Document n° 5. – to promptly and correctly implement the above-mentioned decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 6 November 2012 and of the Hungarian Constitutional Court, by enabling the dismissed judges who so wish to be reinstated in their previous positions, including those presiding judges whose original executive posts are no longer vacant; – to establish objective selection criteria, or to mandate the National Judicial Council to establish such criteria, with a view to ensuring that the rules on the transfer of cases respect the right to a fair trial and the principle of a lawful judge; – to implement the remaining recommendations laid down in the Venice Commission’s opinion No CDL- AD(2012)020 on the cardinal acts on the judiciary that were amended following the adoption of Opinion CDL-AD(2012)001; On the media and pluralism: – to fulfil the commitment to further discuss cooperation activities at expert level on the more long-term perspective of the freedom of the media, building on the most important remaining recommendations of the 2012 legal expertise of the Council of Europe; – to ensure timely and close involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including media professionals, opposition parties and civil society, in any further review of this legislation, which regulates such a fundamental aspect of the functioning of a democratic society, and in the process of implementation; – to observe the positive obligation arising from European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence under Article 10 ECHR to protect freedom of expression as one of the preconditions for a functioning democracy; – to respect, guarantee, protect and promote the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, as well as media freedom and pluralism, and to refrain from developing or supporting mechanisms that threaten media freedom and journalistic and editorial independence; – to make sure that legally binding procedures and mechanisms are in place for the selection and appointment of heads of public media, management boards, media councils and regulatory bodies, in line with the principles of independence, integrity, experience and professionalism, representation of the entire political and social spectrum, legal certainty and continuity; – to provide legal guarantees regarding full protection of the confidentiality of sources principle and to strictly apply European Court of Human Rights-related case-law; – to provide legal guarantees regarding full protection of the confidentiality of sources principle and to strictly apply European Court of Human Rights-related case-law; – to ensure that rules relating to political information throughout the audiovisual media sector guarantee fair access to different political competitors, opinions and viewpoints, in particular on the occasion of elections and referendums, allowing citizens to form their own opinions without undue influence from one dominant opinion-forming power; On respect for fundamental rights – to take positive action to ensure that the fundamental rights of all persons, including persons belonging to minorities, are respected; On the freedom of religion and the recognition of churches: – to establish clear, neutral and impartial requirements and institutional procedures for the recognition of religious organisations as churches which respect the duty of the State to remain neutral and impartial in its relations with the various religions and beliefs and to provide effective means of redress in cases of non-recognition or lack of a decision in line with the constitutional requirements set out in the above-mentioned Decision 6/2013 of the Constitutional Court; __________________ 16deleted See Working Document n° 5.

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – subheading 1

~~On the Fundamental Law:~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 1

~~– to fully restore the supremacy of the Fundamental Law by removing from it those provisions previously declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court;~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 2

– to fully apply the recommendations of the Venice Commission and, in particular, to revise the list of policy areas requiring a qualified majority in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and with a view to ensuring future meaningful elections;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 3

– to secure a lively parliamentary system which also respects opposition forces by allowing a reasonable time for a genuine debate between the majority and the opposition and for the participation of the wider public in the legislative procedure;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – subheading 2

~~On checks and balances:~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 4

– to restore the right of the Constitutional Court to review all legislation without exception with a view to counterbalancing parliamentary and executive actions and ensuring, through full judicial review, that the Fundamental Law always remains the supreme law of the land;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 5

– to fully restore the prerogatives of the Constitutional Court as the supreme body of constitutional protection, and thus the primacy of the Fundamental Law, by removing from its text the limitations on the Constitutional Court's power to review the constitutionality of any modifications of the Fundamental Law as well as the abolition of two decades of constitutional case-law;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 6

– to restore the case-law of the Constitutional Court issued before the entry into force of the Fundamental Law, in particular in the field of fundamental rights16 ; __________________ 16 See Working Document n° 5.deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 7

– to restore the prerogatives of the parliament in the budgetary field and thus secure the full democratic legitimacy of budgetary decisions by removing the restriction of parliamentary powers by the non-parliamentary Budget Council;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 8

– to provide clarifications on how the Hungarian authorities intend to remedy the premature termination of the term of office of senior officials with a view to securing the institutional independence of the data protection authority;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – subheading 3

~~On the independence of the judiciary:~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 9

– to fully restore and guarantee the independence of the judiciary by ensuring that the principles of irremovability and guaranteed term of office of judges, the rules governing the structure and composition of the governing bodies of the judiciary, as well as the safeguards on the independence of the Constitutional Court, are enshrined in the Fundamental Law;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 10

– to promptly and correctly implement the above-mentioned decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 6 November 2012 and of the Hungarian Constitutional Court, by enabling the dismissed judges who so wish to be reinstated in their previous positions, including those presiding judges whose original executive posts are no longer vacant;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 11

– to establish objective selection criteria, or to mandate the National Judicial Council to establish such criteria, with a view to ensuring that the rules on the transfer of cases respect the right to a fair trial and the principle of a lawful judge;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 12

– to implement the remaining recommendations laid down in the Venice Commission's opinion No CDL- AD(2012)020 on the cardinal acts on the judiciary that were amended following the adoption of Opinion CDL-AD(2012)001;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – subheading 4

~~On the media and pluralism:~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 13

– to fulfil the commitment to further discuss cooperation activities at expert level on the more long-term perspective of the freedom of the media, building on the most important remaining recommendations of the 2012 legal expertise of the Council of Europe;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 14

– to ensure timely and close involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including media professionals, opposition parties and civil society, in any further review of this legislation, which regulates such a fundamental aspect of the functioning of a democratic society, and in the process of implementation;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 15

– to observe the positive obligation arising from European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence under Article 10 ECHR to protect freedom of expression as one of the preconditions for a functioning democracy;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 16

– to respect, guarantee, protect and promote the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, as well as media freedom and pluralism, and to refrain from developing or supporting mechanisms that threaten media freedom and journalistic and editorial independence;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 17

– to make sure that legally binding procedures and mechanisms are in place for the selection and appointment of heads of public media, management boards, media councils and regulatory bodies, in line with the principles of independence, integrity, experience and professionalism, representation of the entire political and social spectrum, legal certainty and continuity;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 18

~~– to provi~~de le~~gal guarantees regarding full protection of the confidentiality of sources principle and to strictly apply European Court of Human Rights-related case-law;~~ted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 19

– to ensure that rules relating to political information throughout the audiovisual media sector guarantee fair access to different political competitors, opinions and viewpoints, in particular on the occasion of elections and referendums, allowing citizens to form their own opinions without undue influence from one dominant opinion-forming power;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – subheading 5

~~On respect for fundamental rights~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 20

~~– to take positive action to ensure that the fundamental rights of all persons, including persons belonging to minorities, are respec~~deleted;

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – subheading 6

~~On the freedom of religion and the recognition of churches:~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 61 – indent 21

– to establish clear, neutral and impartial requirements and institutional procedures for the recognition of religious organisations as churches which respect the duty of the State to remain neutral and impartial in its relations with the various religions and beliefs and to provide effective means of redress in cases of non-recognition or lack of a decision in line with the constitutional requirements set out in the above-mentioned Decision 6/2013 of the Constitutional Court;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Heading IV

~~IV- Follow-up~~deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 75

75. Calls on the Hungarian authorities to inform Parliament, the Commission, the Council Presidency and the Council of Europe of the procedure and the calendar they intend to follow for the implementation of the recommendations contained in paragraph 61;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 76

76. Invites the Commission and the Council to each designate a representative who, together with the Parliament's rapporteur (‘Article 2 Trilogue’), will carry out an assessment of the information sent by the Hungarian authorities on the implementation of the recommendations contained in paragraph 61;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 77

77. Asks the Conference of Presidents to activate the mechanism laid down in Article 7(1) TEU in case the replies from the Hungarian authorities to the above- mentioned recommendations do not comply with the requirements of Article 2 TEU;deleted

2013/05/29
Committee: LIBE