Hungarian parliament backs Poland against EU sanctions
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
21.02.2018 08:30
The Hungarian parliament has adopted a resolution to support Poland over a dispute with the European Commission caused by controversial judicial changes.
Hungarian Parliament. Photo: Elekes Andor/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
At the end of last year, the European Commission took the unprecedented step of triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland, stepping up pressure on Warsaw over controversial changes to the judicial system by the country’s ruling conservatives.
The Hungarian government has been consistent in stating that it would oppose sanctions against Poland, with Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen having previously vowed that his country would defend Poland against “unjust” and “political” measures by the EU.
The resolution adopted by the country’s parliament read: “We are calling on the Hungarian government to support Poland, to prevent the rights guaranteed to Poland under EU Articles from being diminished, and to oppose proposals which would restrict the fundamental rights Poland enjoys as an EU member”.
“We Hungarians, similarly to the Poles … joined the EU of our own free will. We did this with trust that we were joining a community based on values such as law, justice and freedom.”
Hungarian parliamentarians also called on Hungarian members of the European Parliament to likewise oppose any EU measures against Poland.
The resolution gained 114 votes in favour, and 13 against.
Beata Mazurek, a spokeswoman for Poland’s governing Law and Justice party, said that the resolution "shows that there will now be no talk of sanctions against Poland.” (sl/vb)
Source: PAP