EU: Law rule, media freedom threatened in Hungary, Poland

The European Union has repeatedly said that democratic standards are being challenged in Hungary and Poland.

The European Commission has also cited Slovenia, which currently heads the 27-member bloc's presidency, for violating local media freedoms, citing online harassment and threats against Slovenian journalists.

There is room for serious concern in a number of member states, especially when it comes to independence of the judiciary”, Vera Jourova, vice-president of the Commission for Values and Transparency, has said.

The report says Poland does not meet standards in the justice system, the anti-corruption framework and media freedom.

The European Court of Justice has said last week that a disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court in Poland does not guarantee impartiality and independence and violates the independence of the judiciary.

Hungary has also been singled out in the report for lack of non-adeutic measures to fight corruption, until it has been warned that media freedom and pluralism “are at risk”.

In Hungary, <x0] risks from clienteleism, favour and nepotism in public administration, as well as the risks related to businesses and political figures, continue to fail to address”, the report's summary said.

These conclusions are at risk of facing Warsaw and Budapest with serious consequences.

A mechanism created last year, following growing concerns for these two Central European countries, links the level of rule of law with EU funds, enabling Brussels to block the money in case of serious violations. /rel