Comité van de Regio's bezorgt over lokale Hongaarse democratie (en)
Following the announcement yesterday by the European Commission to launch accelerated infringements procedure against the Hungarian government because of serious concerns about the compatibility of the country's new constitution with EU law, the President of the Committee of the Regions, Mercedes Bresso, in conjunction with the leaders of the four political groups in the CoR, have highlighted their shared concern for local democracy.
The new constitution which entered into force on January 1st 2012, among other problems cited by the European Commission, seriously limits the autonomy of local authorities as enshrined in both the Council of Europe's Charter on Local Self-Government and article 4 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
According to the new constitution, elected municipal councils can be dissolved by the national Parliament on the grounds of a breach of the constitution, without a binding judgement from the constitutional court. Moreover, the new constitution's provisions also curtail the autonomous management of local authorities' property and provide the possibility to 'nationalise' it. The CoR's concerns echo an analysis made in June 2011 on the basis of the draft "cardinal laws" by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission.
The CoR political group leaders also expressed their concern that local authorities would suffer not only in political terms but also in the context of the country's failure to reduce its deficit in line with the reinforced stability pact and the related statements of Commissioner Olli Rehn i suggesting that EU-cohesion fund payments to Hungary could be withheld.
"If the very principles of local democracy are at risk, a European Union which is a community of values needs to react. I call on the Hungarian authorities to engage in real and constructive dialogue in order to resolve these issues as quickly as possible." The CoR President underlined in this way that all European institutions in such a situation have a responsibility to uphold European values.
Visit the CoR's website: www.cor.europa.eu
The Committee of the Regions
The Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives. The mission of its 344 members from all 27 EU Member States is to involve regional and local authorities and the communities they represent in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are obliged to consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. It can appeal to the EU Court of Justice if its rights are infringed or it believes that an EU law violates the subsidiarity principle or fails to respect regional or local powers.
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Pierluigi Boda
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