Hungary and Poland Prepare to Meet EU Criticisms of Rule of Law Head On

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (L) receives his Polish counterpart, Zbigniew Rau, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade office in Budapest, Hungary, 28 September 2020. EPA-EFE/Lajos Soos

On Tuesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lashed out against Vera Jourova, vice-president of the European Commission for Values and Transparency. In a letter published by Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga on Facebook, Orban demanded Jourova's resignation and announced the suspension of any bilateral communication with her.

The cause of his ire was an interview Jourova gave to German magazine Der Spiegel, in which she called Hungary an "ill democracy" - a pun on Orban's famous term "illiberal democracy" he once used to describe his country. Jourova added that Hungarians were not in a position to form their own opinions of Orban's government because of the lack of a free press there.

Orban claimed the statements were not only a direct attack against the democratically elected government, but "also a humiliation of the Hungarian people". Furthermore, he said, the statements are in contradiction with the European Commission's role as a neutral and objective institution.

Jourova's remarks about Hungary have previously been handled by Justice Minister Varga. Usually, it is her and Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto who actively return fire on any criticism of the country's state of democracy, media freedom or corruption, often employing punchy rhetoric to do so. It is highly unusual that the prime minister personally "enters the ring" and, to observers, this indicates the stakes are getting higher as the Commission prepares to release its report on the Rule of Law.

"The Hungarian government had its conflicts...