March 6th, 2013

Council of Europe head asks government to postpone vote on constitutional amendment

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Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has called on the Hungarian government to postpone a vote planned for Monday on a fourth amendment to the country’s constitution until the Venice Commission supplies an opinion on the legislation.

In a statement on Wednesday Jagland expressed concern that the tabled amendment was not in line with the principles of the rule of law, which are laid out in detail in the founding documents of the Council of Europe. He added that the Hungarian government is aiming to re-introduce temporary measures which had been rendered void by the Constitutional Court earlier.

This creates the impression that the government plans to use its two-thirds parliamentary majority to second-guess the constitutional court’s ruling, which may threaten the democratic principle of checks and balances, Jagland said.

MTI (Magyar Távirati Iroda) is the Hungarian news agency.
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  • szebbjovot

    The EU barks and Fidesz will obey.

    • Aloof

      WTF do EU Banks have to do with this? OV will just tell ‘em to fuck off.

      • szebbjovot

        I said barks, woof woof, not banks.

        • Aloof

          My bad… woof

      • szebbjovot

        “OV will just tell ‘em to fuck off.”
        He will tell them to fck off in front of Hungarians, and then in secret send one of his toy boys to Brussels to apologize and tell them that he will obey.

  • Paul

    “Council of Europe head asks government to postpone vote on constitutional amendment”.

    Suddenly the situation escalates intensely…good!!!!!!

    No escape for VO any more!

    A take it or leave it situation.

  • Watcher

    There is nothing quite like the sound of Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, pontificating about democratic ethics.

    This is the man who as head of the Norwegian Nobel committee, also, secured the nomination of the European Union for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, even as students on the streets of Athens were getting the shit beaten out of them…

    How was this possible in Eurosceptic Norway, you ask? Easy. Secretary General Jagland simply convened a quorum of the committee at an extraordinary meeting, which just so happened to take place when its Eurosceptic members were on holiday.

    I’m so glad we have people of Jagland’s moral fibre defending European values.

    • Vidra

      Sounds like the kind of stunt Orbán would pull. Ends justifying means and all that? Anyway, it doesn’t affect that Orbán should hold fire until the EU has lifted the excessive deficit procedure at the very earliest, otherwise he’ll need more than a new consitution to save Hungary.

      • Aloof

        Additionally, the EU will not remove EDP based on Fidesz numbers but theirs. Fidesz continually feeds the domestic audience that they have proven the EU’s numbers wrong time and again but what they always fail to mention is that the EU told Fidesz more than a year ago that the illegal methods that Fidesz uses/used to get their numbers will not be included in their decision on EDP. Add on the political baggage where Fidesz is non EU compliant and actually defiant, then that just increases the risk of taking them out of EDP.
        In any relationship there must be cooperation, trust and confidence. Fidesz and Hungary come up bankrupt in regards to their EU relationship.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Christopher-Szabo/785696382 Christopher Szabo

    The Council of Europe has no jurisdiction in this case. Where were these bleeding hearts when the Hungarian police under the Socialist government assaulted the people? They said not a word! Therefore they have no moral right now to speak!

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