NGOs call on EU Ministers to probe Hungarian government’s commitment to respect, protect and promote the principles the EU was founded on

Ahead of the General Affairs Council on 15 November, Amnesty International and seven other organisations, called upon the Ministers to adequately probe the Hungarian government’s commitment to respect, protect and promote the principles the EU was founded on.

In a joint statement, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights, Open Society Foundations, RECLAIM, Reporters Without Borders, and Transparency International EU reiterated our longstanding call for the Council to make full use of the Article 7.1 TEU procedure to hold the Hungarian government to account for violating EU founding principles and to affirm by a vote its stance in defence of Article 2 TEU.

In this phase of political transition, it is critical to continue monitoring the situation of rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy in Poland. We call on EU member states to keep the Article 7 procedure active, as well as other related procedures, until the government in charge delivers real changes in law and practice.