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Recommendations to the European Union During the Hungarian Presidency
04/01/2011 – The changes brought by the Lisbon Treaty have radically transformed the EU presidency’s task. It now focuses far more on internal affairs. So one of the main challenges confronting the Hungarian presidency on the human rights front will be something its predecessors were able to dodge by hiding behind laudable work on the external front. Europe’s human rights landscape has also been altered. Discrimination against minorities, and racism in law enforcement and criminal justice, have grown so much that they are too overwhelming for member states to tackle singlehandedly. In particular the situation of the Roma people and the grave violations they are facing throughout Europe, have spelt an end to the previous and all-too-convenient impasse EU presidencies have cited to allow them to avoid confronting the human rights situation in the EU.
