Hungary’s minister in charge of EU affairs János Bóka told reporters after yesterday’s meeting of EU ministers in Brussels that Hungary, supported by Slovakia, vetoed the adoption of a proposal put forward by the Polish EU presidency.
According to a Council of the EU press release published on Tuesday, May 27th, the proposal was submitted by Poland “in the context of the challenges faced by today’s EU democracies.” The “challenges” mentioned in the proposed text clearly refer to the recently adopted Hungarian laws on the transparency of public life and the banning of public LGBT events that have been vehemently attacked in the EU.
Minister Bóka noted that the conclusions reflect a “fundamental misunderstanding” regarding the role of civil organisations in society. “Civil society organisations are not constitutional institutions and civil society organisations are not political parties,” he said, adding
we reject any efforts that serve to use civil society organisations as a tool to undermine the legitimacy of democratic institutions and interfere in electoral processes.
As there was no consensus on the text, the Polish presidency decided to issue it “as presidency conclusions supported by 25 Member States,” the press statement said.
