Hungary must ensure its measures comply with EU norms

After the European Commission's recent decision on infringement procedures against Hungary the government should ensure Brussels that none of its measures conflict with EU laws and norms, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz told Nepszava daily, published on Tuesday. Hungary must act to avoid that the issue is taken further and ends up before the European Court, said Schulz, in connection with the EC's Wednesday decision to take two out of three infringement procedures against Hungary to the next stage. The Commission decided on Wednesday to send Hungary two reasoned opinions - the second stage under EU infringement proceedings after which the matter may be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union - and two administrative letters. The reasoned opinions concern the independence of the data protection authority and measures regarding the retirement age of judges - and the letters seek further clarifications regarding the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the central bank. Schulz told the paper that each member state must comply with regulations enshrined in the EU basic treaty and all other common laws, adding that both the Commission and the European Parliament ensured equal treatment of each and every member state without any exception. He firmly rejected allegations by the Hungarian government about a conspiracy of left-wing parties in Europe directed against Hungary. He said that in decision-making bodies such as the EP, which have stated concerns regarding Hungary, conservatives like Hungary's own governing Fidesz party were in majority. The EP President dispelled the Hungarian government's fears that the EU "stole the identity" of individual member states to make them uniform. "The EU does not in any way endanger the identity of any member state. The fact that a lot of member states have their own identity and the idea of multiculturalism itself are, in fact, the greatest values of the European Union," Schulz said.