06/03/2013 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 05.03.2013 – Following their visit to Budapest from 25 to 27 February 2013, the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the opinion on the opening of a monitoring procedure in respect of Hungary, Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE) and Jana Fischerová (Czech Republic, EDG), have expressed their concern about the recently proposed amendments to the Hungarian Constitution (the so-called fourth amendment).
“This amendment reintroduces a number of provisions that have been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Hungary and which the Venice Commission has indicated run counter to European standards,” said the co-rapporteurs. “We hope that these amendments will not be accepted as such by the parliament.”
The co-rapporteurs visited Budapest to discuss their ongoing concerns with regard to the constitutional framework and media legislation in Hungary, as well as the possibility for further changes in these areas to be introduced by the authorities.
They have already made visits to the country in July 2011 and February 2012. The rapporteurs will present their draft opinion - containing a draft decision proposing to open or not a monitoring procedure with respect to Hungary - to the Monitoring Committee during the April part-session of the Assembly in Strasbourg.