(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, JUL 20 - The European Commission
sounded alarm over judicial independence, media freedom and
anti-graft efforts in Hungary and Poland in a report Tuesday, as
calls mount to withhold funds over rule of law breaches. The
warnings from Brussels follow a stream of criticism against the
right-wing administrations in Hungary and Poland that has seen
the EU begin a slew of legal cases over alleged breaches of the
bloc's rules and values. The latest charges come in the EU's
second annual report examining press freedom, justice systems
and official checks and balances across the 27 nation bloc,
released Tuesday. They were published as Brussels mulls plans
from Budapest and Warsaw on how to spend their share of the EU's
800-billion-euro Covid recovery package. The commission laid out
"serious concerns" over judicial independence in both Poland and
Hungary, and lambasted Budapest for not doing enough to tackle
the "risks of clientelism, favouritism and nepotism" at the top
levels of government. There were also worries about the
shrinking space for independent media -- a particularly
sensitive subject after Hungarian authorities denied reports
they used Pegasus spyware to target journalists. The European
Commission last week launched its latest legal actions against
the two conservative governments in response to measures seen as
discriminating against LGBTQ citizens. Brussels is furious with
Hungary for enacting a so-called "anti-paedophilia" law, banning
the "promotion" of homosexuality and gender reassignment to
under-18s, that EU leaders have complained stigmatises the LGBTQ
community. Poland is being targeted after around 100 towns and
villages established "LGBT-ideology-free zones", which cover
about a third of the traditionally Catholic country. The clamour
over the latest standoff has added to calls for Brussels to
withhold EU funding, with MEPs demanding the commission take a
tougher stance on rule of law breaches. The bloc last year
agreed to link budget payments to respect for rule of law in a
landmark move tied to the mammoth recovery plan -- but Hungary
and Poland won a delay to it coming into force. In the wake of
the anger over Budapest's anti-LGBTQ legislation, Brussels last
week missed a self-imposed deadline to approve Hungary's 7.2
billion euros spending plan for the post-pandemic funds. The EU
is also facing another major headache with Poland after the
country's Constitutional Court ruled any interim measures issued
by the EU Court of Justice against controversial judicial
reforms were "not in line" with the Polish constitution.
Brussels sent a note Tuesday to the Polish authorities demanding
they conform with recent decisions by the EU court or face
financial penalties. (ANSA-AFP).
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