madam president the new hungarian constitution demolishes the pillars of a democracy based on the rule of law and opens the way to autocracy
this is a major setback on the road of transition
the process of preparing and adopting the new constitution was hardly legitimate
the preamble is exclusionary and reflects a distorted interpretation of history
the main text represents an intrusion into private life basic human and citizens rights are defined in a narrow way social rights are substituted by state objectives
checks and balances are weakened especially the independence of the judiciary
the european council parliament and commission cannot ignore these violations of european values because this may set a negative precedent for other illiberal regimes to follow
nevertheless the democrats of hungary do not expect the remedy to come from abroad
were it to happen that way it would only reinforce the view of the hungarian prime minister who compared the eu to the soviet union
the solution can come only from the hungarian citizens who will reject this constitution when they realise that an autocratic regime cannot provide high living standards and more freedom
twenty-one years ago we were not required to fight for freedom
now we are
in the meantime europe should keep its watchful eye on hungary and encourage the hungarian democrats to regain the initiative
