Regarding the debate in the European Parliament on Hungary’s law on handling the epidemic, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, slammed the procedure as a “witch hunt and a show trial”.
“The verdict is preordained, and not even the justice minister is being allowed to address [the plenary],” Gulyás said. He added that it was “unprecedented” for the government of the member state in a debate not to be represented in the discussion while the country holding the European Union’s rotating presidency was being represented by a state secretary.
“This is reminiscent of the darkest days,” Gulyás said, adding that “not even in communist show trials was the defendant denied the opportunity to state his case.” He said such procedures could only hurt the EU’s image and weaken confidence in the bloc’s institutions. “This procedure is intolerable and unacceptable,” Gulyás said. “It has nothing to do with the rule of law or the EU’s fundamental values.”
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