Steven N.
Fidesz is planning to hold a retreat for its parliamentary group members next week in Balatonfüred, just as the European Court of Justice will be announcing its ruling on the rule of law mechanism, writes Atv.hu.
The season-opening meeting for Hungary’s ruling party will be held before the spring session of Parliament starts on February 21. If Viktor Orbán (pictured) speaks on the evening of the first day at the gathering, as he traditionally does, then it will fall on the same day as the European Court of Justice’s expected ruling on February 16, when the panel will decide whether the rule of law mechanism, which has provoked the Prime Minister’s ire in recent days, conforms with EU law.
The Prime Minister believes that Hungary’s sovereignty may be threatened by the EU legislation, which would take rule of law considerations into account when determining how funds are distribted to Member States. If EU members accept this notion, “they will push this idea to the limit,” the Prime Minister stated on Kossuth Rádió last Friday.
The EU is working to deprive Member States of as many rights as possible, claims Orbán, so that “Brussels can subsume national law through stealthy amendments.” Using the Family Law Act as an example, Orbán said that if Hungary does not amend it the way those in Brussels want him to, the country will not receive any money.
The Prime Minister believes that this practice is also detrimental to the interests of other Member States, which is why concerned states must “stand on their hind legs” and not permit their national rights to be taken away.
This Saturday, February 12, Viktor Orbán will give a speech at the Castle Garden Bazaar to open the election campaign, exactly 50 days before Hungary goes to vote in parliamentary elections on April 3. [Telex]
