Over the weekend, Portuguese MEP Mario David commented on the Tavares Report in an interview for one of the Hungarian news channels. “It is important to realize, this is not Europe which is critical of Hungary,” he said. “It is a partisan action in which the European left criticizes Hungary.”

Carlo Casani, the Italian head of the EPP’s constitutional committee told news reporters that Hungary’s Fundamental Law is among the best in Europe. “It is true the European Commission and the European Parliament criticized it at certain points, but I disagree with this,” said Casani. “The European Union must respect the internal affairs of a member state.”

Rafal Trzaskowski, a Polish MEP spoke even more explicitly about the partisan nature of the report. “Hungary should not be used for political games. The left wishes to picture itself as a protector of freedom to win votes in the elections,” ” said Trzaskowski, emphasizing that the government of Hungary has demonstrated its openness to fair and unbiased discussions. “Sure, the situation in Hungary is not perfect. Some changes in the law are debatable. We have to talk about these, but the [Hungarian] government is a partner for holding such discussions and it is untrue that Hungary would not be a democracy as the Tavares Report tries to make it look.”

Yesterday, Veronique Matthieu-Houillon, MEP from France, told Hungarian state television that she voted no to the Tavares Report because it applies double standards. “There are parts of the legislation that are almost exactly the same as French legislation, yet they have no problems with ours. This proves the report is a political attack,” she said, adding that the media in France criticized her for voting no on the report.

An increasing number of reasonable politicians understand that today it’s Hungary but tomorrow it could be their country or their own political leadership, and nobody wants to be the target of a political witch hunt. As the factual details in this poorly informed debate become more apparent, more are realizing that Hungary has a strong case for its legislation. They also see in the Tavares Report a dangerous development, a bold overstepping of the clearly set division of powers among the different European Union institutions and the member states. It is in the clear interest of all EU countries to oppose such moves.

Source: A Blog About Hungary

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