New Hungarian justice minister doesn't want to deal with EU-related issues

Bence Tuzson, who will replace Judit Varga at the helm of the Ministry of Justice on 1 August, wants "a clean, traditional Ministry of Justice structure". Tuzson said that he had asked Viktor Orbán to keep EU affairs out of the ministry.

He told the Hungarian State News Agency, MTI that the ministry will focus on protecting Hungary's legal sovereignty, as he believes that our sovereignty has been "under attack" in recent times. Tuzson believes it is important to keep certain areas within the European Union under national jurisdiction, and not to be "thinking in terms of a European empire", but to continue to "talk about a unified federation of nation states with equal rights".

Judit Varga's successor mentioned the review of jurisprudence as another important issue, adding that when administering justice, one must always put the people's perspective first. He wants to see the swift and efficient administration of justice continue to develop, while preserving the independence of the judiciary, so that people have a clear understanding of legal practices. He also said that as a minister he would like to consult with representatives of the court system on this and if deemed necessary, intervene by legislative means.

According to hvg.hu, EU affairs will be transferred to the Prime Minister's Office. The newspaper reported that the entire State Secretariat for European Affairs at the Ministry of Justice will be transferred to the ministry lead by Gergely Gulyás.

Judit Varga announced on Wednesday that she will step down from leading the Ministry of Justice on 31 July to focus on the 2024 EP campaign. It was revealed on Tuesday that Varga will be the EP list leader for Fidesz in next year's elections. The post of justice minister will be taken over by Bence Tuzson, a Fidesz MP and state secretary, who has been Antal Rogán's right-hand man. We introduced him in this article.

According to the new minister's Facebook post, Varga and Tuzson already had a meeting on Thursday “about the past and the future”.