Activities of Curzio MALTESE related to 2017/2131(INL)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the situation in Hungary (pursuant to the European Parliament resolution of 17 May 2017)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls that in February 2018, the Hungarian government introduced in Parliament the ‘Stop Soros’ package, a legislative proposal made up in the sphere of three bills that target civil society organisations working on migration;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Is deeply concerned that the proposed laws could serve as a model within the EU that will undermine the valuable work of civil society organisations fighting for the respect of human rights, a danger that the EU Fundamental Rights Agency has recently underlined;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Believes that the current situation in Hungary represents a clear risk of a serious breach of the values as referred to in Article 2 of the TEU;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Draws attention to the fact that the segregmultiple forms of daily discrimination of Roma children in education in Hungary remains a widespread and deep-rooted phenomenon, which contributes to the social exclusion of Roma, reducing their chances of integration in the education system, labour market and in society;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. StressesIs deeply concerned, with reference to the ‘Democracy Index 2017’ published recently by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), that media freedom in Hungary has been considerably restricted in the past year as a result of State intervention and increased State control; deplores, in this connection, the closure and subsequent sale of Népszabadság, one of the oldest and most prestigious newspapers in Hungary, once again revealing the Hungarian Government’s intolerance vis-à-vis a critical press;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that media freedom and pluralism are fundamental rights enshrined in Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and constitute essential foundations of democratic societies;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. NoteRegrets that the pro-government news website 888.hu recently published a black list of journalists working for foreign media, who are described as foreign propagandists for Soros, and that this clearly runs counter to the principle of media freedom;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the European Commission to urgently finalise the infringement procedures steps, taking into consideration the declaration made by the Hungarian government which has questioned the ruling of the European Court of Justice concerning the infringement procedure which the European Commission launched against Hungary for failing to implement the community’s decision on the relocation of asylum-seekers, and warrants the launch of the Article 7 TEU procedure;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Calls on the Commission, to continue to closely monitor the unfolding legislative process and the extent to which the proposals breach EU law, including its Fundamental Rights and to make the evaluation promptly and publicly available;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on the OSCE to set up an election observation mission to Hungary’s parliamentary elections not only with a limited mandate, to closely monitor the misuse of the freedom of expression, the abuse of the administrative resources and the election campaign that continues to vilify civic organisations engaged in public interest causes;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Calls on the Commission to increase funding for independent projects in the field of media freedom and pluralism such as the Media Pluralism Monitor among others, mapping violations to media freedom and supporting journalists under threat;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8e. Calls on the Commission to create robust funding instrument to support independent NGO-s to have their voices heard and to fulfil their missions in an increasingly hostile environment;