European Parliament Plenary – Commission statement on the situation in Hungary First Vice-President Timmermans Strasbourg, 19 May 2015

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  I would like to thank the Parliament for putting this topic on the agenda, as two recent developments in Hungary have given rise to important concerns.
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  Let me start with the debate launched by Prime Minister Orbán on the reintroduction of the death penalty.
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  President Juncker i and I already made clear statements on this, and these represent the official position of the Commission. Article 2 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits explicitly and clearly any person from being condemned to death, or executed. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the death penalty is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. The abolition of the death penalty is a condition which States are required to meet in order to become members of the Council of Europe or of the EU. This is part of our common values.
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  As far as the Commission is concerned, there is no doubt that the reintroduction of capital punishment would be contrary to the EU's fundamental values. A reintroduction of the death penalty by a Member State would therefore lead to the application of Article 7 TEU. The mechanisms of Article 7 TEU relate to the values referred to in Article 2 TEU, including human dignity and respect for human rights.
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  As you know the Treaties do not foresee suspending or withdrawing the membership of a Member State of the European Union. However, Article 7 TEU provides for a far reaching sanction mechanism specifically designed to ensure respect for the fundamental values of Article 2 TEU.
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  More specifically on the situation in Hungary let me make the following comments.
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  President Juncker stated on 30 April that Mr Orbán should immediately clarify that it is not his intention to reintroduce the death penalty. Would it be his intention, "it would be a fight".
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  The Commission has in the meantime understood that the Hungarian government does not have concrete plans to take any steps to introduce the death penalty, and that Prime Minister Orbán has assured President Schulz that the Hungarian government will respect and honour all European treaties and legislation. I refer to the press release of President Schulz of 30 April.
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  However, if the Hungarian government were to take steps to reintroduce the death penalty, let me underline that the Commission is ready to use immediately all the means at its disposal to ensure that Hungary - as well as any other Member State - complies with its obligations under Union law and respects the values of the Union enshrined in Article 2 TEU. We will not hesitate a second on such a case.
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  On the public consultation on immigration as announced by the Hungarian government, let me make the following comments.
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  In general the Commission considers that public consultation can be an important tool for governments and other public authorities to develop policies that can count on support of the population.
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  However, and I repeat what I already stated earlier, a public consultation based on bias, on leading and even misleading questions, on prejudice about immigrants can hardly be considered a fair and objective basis for designing sound policies.
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  Framing immigration in the context of terrorism, depicting migrants as a threat to jobs and the livelihood of people, is malicious and simply wrong - it will only feed misconceptions and prejudice.
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  We should not close our eyes to the sometimes serious challenges posed by migration in our societies. But in doing so, we should never lose sight of our fundamental values and of the need to preserve a pluralist and diverse society, based on mutual respect and equal treatment of every single individual.
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  EU and its Member States are developing common answers to the current challenges, as Europe is based on mutual respect, solidarity and sincere cooperation. We need political leaders who are willing to explain EU policy to their citizens in an open, fair and balanced manner, and who stand firm for joint and common European values. This is the only way we can make progress together in Europe.
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  The Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely and I thank the European Parliament explicitely for your continued support on these important matters.

IP/15/5007

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