Steven N.
European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders (pictured) told Politico there was virtually no chance that Hungary would face financial sanctions prior to the country’s election on April 3.
The main topic of the interview was Poland rather than Hungary, with Reynders telling the news site that the EU was putting real pressure on the Poles to follow EU standards on judicial independence and comply with European court rulings. The EU is withholding recovery money from Poland over concerns about the independence of its judiciary and judicial reform, among other things.
But Reynders also discussed Hungary’s homophobic “child protection” law, and expressed his concerns about freedom of the press and corruption in the country.
However, the Commissioner acknowledged there was no realistic chance that Hungary would face financial penalities ahead of its April 3 parliamentary elections, as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will first have to deliver its verdict on the rule of law mechanism on February 16.
If the ECJ approves of the mechanism process, it will then take time for the matter to be submitted to the Council of the European Union, he said. [444]
