Joint NGO letter: State of play of the Article 7(1) TEU procedures concerning Poland and Hungary

Civil Society Organisations letter ahead of the General Affairs Council on 14 December when EU affairs ministers will hear from the European Commission on the latest developments and take stock of the situation regarding respect for EU values in Hungary and Poland as part of the Article 7 (1) TEU procedure. The briefing by the European Commission is bound to include several highly problematic developments in both countries since the last Article 7(1) Council discussions in June, following years of proceedings. These developments include bold defiance of the authority of the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights by the governments of both Poland and Hungary. The failure to respect, let alone comply with, judgments of these courts constitute a further degradation of the rule of law within the EU that must be halted as a matter of urgency.