EU Commissioner: many in the Hungarian government do not take the rule of law very seriously

We must show that the European Union is not the enemy of Hungarians, but their friend, Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights stressed when speaking to representatives of the press in the Hungarian capital on Sunday. The Luxembourg politician who is the leading candidate of the European Socialists was in Budapest for their Hungarian member parties’ (DK and MSZP) launch of their campaigns for the June European Parliamentary elections.

Being the leading candidate means that Schmit would be the number two contender for heading the EU's quasi-government, the European Commission if, as predicted by the polls, the Socialists form the second largest group in the European Parliament after the June elections. "We'll see," he said when asked whether he thought the member states deciding on the nomination would this year adhere to the informal system first used in 2014 but which ended up not being used in 2019.

Among other things, he said that they would like to strengthen social convergence in the EU, which, according to his "impression is not part of Fidesz's programme", and that they are still waiting to see how the minimum wage directive, for example, will be incorporated into Hungarian national law. Schmit explained that convergence does not mean "that the minimum wage will be the same everywhere from one day to the next", but that differences between parts of the EU should be reduced. If the wages are low, workers – especially the young and skilled – may often decide to leave their country, “and what happens then? The country most opposed to migration goes and tries to recruit workers from elsewhere.”

As the member of the European Commission responsible for jobs and social rights, Schmit is involved in the decisions about blocking a large part of Hungarian subsidies due to concerns about the rule of law, as these also affect the social fund which is part of his area of responsibility. He stressed that they had been trying to protect Hungarians and others from "authoritarian developments". It was at the end of a "long and complex process" that the freeze on the blocked funds was partially lifted, as the Hungarian government had made changes to the judicial system and fulfilled what had been requested of it.

However, "I am not convinced that they will implement the reform well", so this will be closely monitored. If they feel that the agreed conditions are not adhered to or the agreed reforms are not properly implemented, they may block the money again, Schmit said, repeating the Commission's much repeated warning. He noted that many in the Hungarian government do not take the rule of law very seriously.

He would suggest that the EU Commissioner responsible for the area should carefully investigate the audio recording made of former Justice Minister Judit Varga, which has also reached the European Commission. He also recalled that the body had also taken action on the "truly unbelievable" Sovereignty Protection Act, on which he said he had consulted with several ministers and was not persuaded by their responses. The legislation has triggered a non-compliance procedure (which does not immediately freeze funding, but may result in fines following some back and forth correspondence and a lawsuit). Schmit said the legislation was not included among the qualifying criteria like the judicial reform because it was adopted later and was not "clearly identifiable" as such a criterion.

Along with the Hungarian rule of law and anti-corruption conditionalities, however, European socialists have also had their share of problems with corruption, with several of their former MPs suspected in the Qatar bribery scandal. Schmit called the events completely unacceptable, and said that they were radical about fighting corruption both inside and outside the EP, and had expelled those involved in the Qatar case.

He now sees a new problem with Russian influence, mainly affecting the right. When asked about the rise of populist parties, he noted that the centre-right European People's Party had accepted Fidesz as a member for too long, even though they were aware of "what was happening here". It would be dangerous to play with the far right, which is why they would not form an alliance with them, he said. They also had problems in a 'neighbouring country', he said, referring to Slovakia, where the membership of one party (Smer, the party of Prime Minister Robert Fico, elected last year) was suspended and negotiations with another (Hlas, the party of the new head of state Peter Pellegrini, who left Smer) were abandoned. Their exclusion would be a long process, but they wanted to act immediately. If they want to leave, it's "fine with us", they can do whatever they want.

The Hungarian government intends to cover part of the increase in teachers' salaries from the social fund, which is Schmit's area of responsibility. The commissioner sees the situation of Hungarian teachers as a big problem. He said that their salaries are also a sign of respect, and he does not understand how a member state with such a rich cultural history can ignore this. "I'm on the side of the teachers," he said of the original commitment to start raising salaries in 2023, and admitted that the issue had been discussed with the Hungarian government.