Czech NGOs appeal to the government: Let's protect the principles of rule of law, democracy and separation of powers in the vote on European money for Hungary
Prague, December 6, 2022 - Non-governmental organizations call on the Czech government (and specifically on Minister of Finance Stanjura): Let's protect the principles of rule of law, democracy and separation of powers in the vote on European money for Hungary. The open letter is signed by 15 organizations and 6 NGO platforms.
At the meeting of the Council of European Finance Ministers on December 12, which will be chaired by Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, measures to protect the Union budget against violations of the rule of law in Hungary and the application of the general conditionality regime, will be discussed.
The political leadership of Hungary has been violating these principles for a long time. Not only is it not implementing recommended reforms, but before the key vote on freezing of cohesion funds, it is trying to blackmail other member states by not approving EU aid to Ukraine, or even blocking NATO expansion.
Non-governmental organizations therefore appeal to the Czech government to take a principled position and negotiate effective measures to protect the rule of law and responsible allocation of EU funds and to support the activation of conditionality rule. And at the same time, we hope Czech government will communicate its position openly and timely with the public.
Petr Lebeda, director of Glopolis, says: "We expect from Prime Minister Fiala's government not only protection of the funds that Czech taxpayers sent to the EU, but also a principled stance in safeguarding fair and accountable use of European funds, the rule of law and democracy in general. This vote is a key political moment, setting up a precedent for the future. Any pro-European and pro-democracy government should now clearly and publicly support these values and principles.“
