Hongaars voorzitterschap wil meer aandacht voor burgerrechten (en)

The Hungarian Presidency strongly advocates for EU citizens’ actual “access” to their fundamental rights laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights i, said Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Justice, in an interview to eu2011.hu prior to the Justice Council’s meeting on 25 February. He also mentioned that due to their different histories, member states do not fully agree on the EU level condemnation of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes.

At their session in Brussels on 25 February, the Ministers of Justice will decide on the Council’s role in the effective implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Why is it necessary? In the EU, every draft decision is drawn up by the Commission, which is responsible for safeguarding the EU’s law. Is it possible that a decision adopted by the Council at the Commission’s initiative turns out to violate the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

In the first place, the Hungarian Presidency focuses on the creation of a citizen-friendly European Union, thus it also advocates EU citizens’ actual “access” to their fundamental rights laid down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. To achieve this, every member state and their institutions should respect the Charter and promote its enforcement. Incidentally, this has also been a legal obligation of member states and EU institutions since the Lisbon Treaty came into force. This was the keynote idea of the informal meeting of Ministers of Justice within the Justice and Home Affairs Council i on 21 January 2011 in Gödöllo, and in this spirit we hope to adopt conclusions on the Council’s role in the effective implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights on 25 February. The conclusions emphasize that all parties concerned will have to respect fundamental rights as early as the initial stage of the Council’s procedure.

Ministers of Justice will hold a public debate on the draft directive which would grant prosecuted persons broader rights to information. What are those rights?

The aim of the draft is to harmonize and unify the process of providing EU citizens accused of criminal offences with information about their rights. For instance, defendants have to be immediately informed about the fact and contents of the indictment and have to be granted access to all prosecution files. The draft directive, which is already agreed on by the member states, is among the Hungarian Presidency’s priorities, and we seek a political decision on the matter during our six months in office. The adoption of the proposal would also strengthen confidence between member states.

The Commission will inform the Ministers about personal data protection in the EU. What are the Council’s plans on data protection and what are the Presidency’s specific goals?

The aim of the effective data protection directive is to protect the individual and to ensure the free circulation of personal data. The same goals are set out in the Council’s conclusions submitted by the Hungarian Presidency in response to the Commission’s communication last November and adopted by member states. We expect the Commission to stand by these objectives in its legislative proposal. For both the situation of individuals and the operation of the single market, it would be more beneficial to have a new modern law that improved the current level of harmonisation.

An amended regulation is underway to facilitate the cross-border acceptance and enforceability of court judgements in civil and commercial matters. The Commission will inform the Ministers on this amendment at the meeting. How would the amendment affect the everyday lives of citizens?

The aim of the amendment is to abolish the so-called “exequatur” procedure. Specifically, a member state’s judgement in a civil matter would automatically become enforceable in other member states without any further procedure. This initiative would also assist EU citizens in asserting their claims. Discussions on the amendment will start during the Hungarian Presidency but will only be concluded during the next trio’s term.

The Council will deal with a draft directive on attacks against information systems. What is this draft directive i about, and what are Hungary’s objectives in this respect?

This draft directive aims to supersede an earlier EU mechanism, as the recent attacks on information systems in Europe have drawn attention to several threats. The draft directive heavily relies on a Council of Europe Convention on computer-related crime, adopted in Budapest on 23 November 2001 and immediately signed by an unprecedented number of participants, namely by 30 states, including the USA. In addition to a set of detailed definitions of criminal law, the convention sets forth procedural provisions and provides a comprehensive regulation of the legal institution of international cooperation.

It has been suggested that a debate will be held on the EU level condemnation of crimes of totalitarian regimes. What does the Presidency aim for?

Back in 2008 the Council requested the Commission to prepare a report on the crimes committed by totalitarian regimes in EU member states. The Commission was also asked to look at the need for any other legislative steps to sanction the public approval, denial or gross belittling of genocide, humanitarian and war crimes against people of the same social status and political persuasion, typically the victims of communist regimes. At the same time, it is clear that due to their different histories, member states do not agree on the EU level condemnation of certain crimes committed by totalitarian regimes.