The EU rebuke Italy, Hungary and Slovakia over the decline in their democracy systems
Standards of democracy have fallen in Italy, Hungary and Slovakia, according to the new edition of the European Commission’s annual rule of law report, subjecting them to a series of harsh criticisms.
This year, Italy was urged to do more to ensure proper funding for public media, protect professional secrecy for journalists and reform the defamation system.
The call comes amid fears in Italy of growing political influence in the media sector, alleged censorship, harassment of critical voices and the possibility of a far-right lawmaker taking over Italian news agency AGI.
In May, journalists at the Italian Radio and Television Corporation went on strike to protest what they described as Giorgia Meloni’s government’s stifling control of editorial content.
Meloni has filed lawsuits against several reporters who have made scathing remarks about her.
Last week, a journalist was sentenced to pay €5,000 in damages for mocking the prime minister’s height on social media.
With regard to Hungary, the report shows a lack of progress in several areas, including the prosecution of high-profile corruption cases, transparency in government advertising, editorial independence of public media, and obstacles hindering the work of NGOs.
Over the past years, Brussels has launched several infringement measures against Budapest, most recently the so-called “Office for the Protection of Sovereignty”, which is empowered to investigate people and organizations that receive foreign funding and are suspected of influencing the country’s political debate and electoral processes.
In reaction to the ongoing trend of democratic decline, the Commission froze more than 30 billion Euros of Hungary’s quota, a situation that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly denounced as financial blackmail.
However, last year the executive released 10.2 billion Euros after Budapest introduced a judicial reform in line with EU recommendations.
The decision provoked an angry reaction and led the European Parliament to sue the Commission.
There are still nearly 22 billion Euros idle, with no prospect of a solution soon.
Slovakia has been under scrutiny for months due to a series of legislative changes led by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government, putting Brussels on high alert.
Chief among these changes is the reform of the Slovak Radio and Television Corporation, which was dissolved this month and replaced by a new entity known as SVTR.
Following criticism, including by the Commission, the government dropped the most controversial parts of the overhaul, such as a program oversight board, but kept a clause allowing the ruling majority to control the board of the Slovak Radio and Television Corporation.
Brussels is also concerned about proposed changes to the Criminal Code and the dissolution of the Special Prosecutor’s Office, which could jeopardize investigations into the misuse of public funds and undermine the EU budget.
There are also additional concerns surrounding a bill that would require NGOs that receive more than 5,000 Euros from abroad to be classified as foreign-backed organizations.
