Hongarije achter doelstelling om rechten Roma te waarborgen (en)
Both as the current Presidency of the Council of the EU and in the course of developing its internal legislative regime, Hungary is committed to the advancement of Roma and the protection of their rights. At EU level, the objective is to develop a framework based on the commitment of Member State, while within the country it become necessary to increase the severity of the Penal Code (in light of what happened in Gyöngyöspata).
Together with its Spanish and Belgian partners of the Presidency Trio, Hungary made a commitment under the Cordoba Declaration on 9 April 2010, to promote the social and economic advancement of Roma, fight against social exclusion, often directed at Roma, and improve access to fundamental rights.
The earlier medium-term international efforts of certain EU Member State to integrate the Roma population , have brought only limited success. It has become certain that discrimination and the vulnerable socio-economic situation require comprehensive, concerted action both at member state and Union level. As the current President of the Council of the European Union, Hungary has taken the objective to accept a European framework based on the national commitment of Member State, building on the joint efforts of EU institutions.
The Presidency agrees with EU institutions in that measures for advancement are especially called for in the fields of education, employment, housing and healthcare. These actions are also tightly related to the tasks Member State have undertaken to implement the Europe 2020 Strategy. Therefore, the increase of the level of employment and the reduction of the school drop-out rates and the number of people living in poverty should be taken as objectives not only in the national reform programs under the Europe 2020 Strategy, but also in Member State’ Roma integration efforts.
At the same time, social and economic advancement is also a condition for ensuring human dignity and enforcing fundamental rights. Therefore, the Hungarian Presidency recommends Member State to improve the efficiency of the protection of rights, provide better access to jurisdiction for marginalized communities, and involve Roma communities in making decisions relating to them. The Hungarian Presidency is convinced that the targeted Member State actions arising from this complex approach could, at the same time, contribute to accomplishing the aims of an intelligent, sustainable and inclusive Europe, and to enhancing the competitiveness of the EU as well.
The Presidency expects that heads of state and government will strengthen the European framework by endorsement at the European Council’s meeting in June.
More severe Penal Code in Hungary
In addition to the EU-level efforts, it is especially important for Member State to do their utmost best in the interest of Roma, through domestic and legal means. Hungary is also developing its national Roma strategy, but now, in the wake of the events in the Hungarian village of Gyöngyöspata, it had to take some extraordinary and rapid measures, too. It has become necessary to amend the Penal Code, which will handle situations like the one unfolding in Gyöngyöspata, in the long run.
The spokesperson of the Prime Minister made an announcement, after the Government’s Wednesday meeting, on the Hungarian government’s proposal to serverely increase the Penal Code, in connection with new forms of crime, the “crime in uniform” has appeared in Hungary, with people in non-official uniforms marching on the streets of Gyöngyöspata. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Justice, Tibor Navracsics, submitted the proposal to the Parliament on the same day.
According to the draft, the future Penal Code would allow the person to display anti-social behaviour against other people, because they are members, or are believed to be members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group or certain groups of the population, which is capable of inciting alarm, that person shall be guilty of committing a crime. punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment. Also, the Penal Code could be supplemented by a section based on the illegal organisation of public safety activities. Providing that if a person organises an activity, which is directed at the maintenance of public safety or public order, or gives such impression, and which also alarms other people, such person shall be guilty of committing an offense punishable by up to 2 years of imprisonment.
If the proposal is accepted, the Penal Code will also provide the above punishment will apply to a person who organizes the tasks of members of a local civil guard organisation, which is defined by the law on the Civil Guard in such a manner that the local civil guard organization fails to fulfil its obligation to cooperate as defined in same law.
On Wednesday, Viktor Orbán wrote on Facebook saying, “We are over an important Government meeting. One would believe that everybody who understands soft warning, unfortunately, this is not so. In such cases, a government has no other option but to talk in the language of power.”
In an interview given to the Hungarian TV2 television he added: “We have now reached a stage where nine people out of ten think that things [happening in Gyöngyöspata] are not right (...) the entire country realises that we are heading towards violence, and citizens must be protected against all kinds of violence. This is also the task of the state and the Prime Minister”.
The head of government said, by increasing the severity of the Penal Code, which was initiated by the government, it will enable the imposition of truly executable imprisonment on notorious perpetrators, such as in the subject crime. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán believes this will resolve the problem.
As he put it, the state must talk in the language of power. “Every person who has acted against the law will go home, because within an hour the representatives of the state will be on the spot and enforce the law; so far this has been tolerated patiently, but now it is over”, Viktor Orbán added.