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Hungary's far-right government vilifies Finland over rule of law inquiry
Source: The Guardian
Hungary’s far-right government vilifies Finland over rule of law inquiry
PM Viktor Orbán and his spokesman launch series of attacks on Finnish presidency
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Tue 13 Aug 2019 12.49 BST Last modified on Tue 13 Aug 2019 13.05 BST
Finland has pledged to pursue a hearing into alleged breaches of the rule of law by Hungary’s far-right government after a campaign of vilification led by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Orbán and his spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, have launched a series of attacks in recent weeks ranging from criticism of the level of domestic violence in Finland to the purchase of strategically important Finnish islands by Russian oligarchs.
As the member state holding the EU’s rolling presidency until the new year, the Finnish government is responsible for chairing meetings of the member states and pushing forward the bloc’s agenda.
The European parliament took the unprecedented step last September of asking member states to determine whether Hungary had breached the bloc’s founding values in its overhaul of the country’s judiciary and alleged failure to respect freedom of expression, religion and equal treatment under the law.
In the most recent broadside, Kovács, who is Hungary’s secretary of state for international communication and relations, wrote that Finland “doesn’t have a constitutional court, independent judiciary or press freedom, it also shows signs of other serious problems as well”.
-snip-
PM Viktor Orbán and his spokesman launch series of attacks on Finnish presidency
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Tue 13 Aug 2019 12.49 BST Last modified on Tue 13 Aug 2019 13.05 BST
Finland has pledged to pursue a hearing into alleged breaches of the rule of law by Hungary’s far-right government after a campaign of vilification led by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Orbán and his spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, have launched a series of attacks in recent weeks ranging from criticism of the level of domestic violence in Finland to the purchase of strategically important Finnish islands by Russian oligarchs.
As the member state holding the EU’s rolling presidency until the new year, the Finnish government is responsible for chairing meetings of the member states and pushing forward the bloc’s agenda.
The European parliament took the unprecedented step last September of asking member states to determine whether Hungary had breached the bloc’s founding values in its overhaul of the country’s judiciary and alleged failure to respect freedom of expression, religion and equal treatment under the law.
In the most recent broadside, Kovács, who is Hungary’s secretary of state for international communication and relations, wrote that Finland “doesn’t have a constitutional court, independent judiciary or press freedom, it also shows signs of other serious problems as well”.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/13/hungary-far-right-government-finland-rule-law-inquiry
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