Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Controversial censorship law: Hungary braces itself against pressure from the EU Commission

 Hungary holds stubbornly to his controversial media-control law. The right-wing conservative government announced that it will at the upcoming meeting with EU Commission President Barroso "readiness for dialogue" shows - everything one could expect, however. Budapest - Hungary's severe criticism of the censorship law is sharp: as "de facto one-party rule" called the British "Guardian" the country just in a comment.

Now the Hungarian government in the conflict over the controversial law for the first time signaled willingness to talk - albeit vaguely. "We are willing to cooperate and provide all necessary explanations," Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi said on Wednesday in Budapest. To the question whether Hungary is prepared to amend the law under pressure from the EU, Martonyi said: "It is premature to say that so far we have not yet." "We will wait for the opinion and criticism of the EU Commission and then decide what to do," Martonyi said.

His government assume that "misunderstandings" would be removed. At the same time, the government announced the right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the country will run its EU presidency in full - all in defiance of international protests. "We have doubts about the correctness of our Presidency strictly by us", it said in a statement published on Wednesday.

Earlier, EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the doubt of his authority as to the compatibility of the new Hungarian media law with EU law reiterates and head of government was asked Orban to a "clarification" press freedom "is a sacred principle" of the European Union, he said.

Delicate passages left out? The Hungarian government said it had sent a translation of the text of the law to Brussels. "The wisest thing we can do in this heated debate is to wait for the Commission's investigation," Martonyi said. The audit of the 194-page document may take several months to EU figures.

The papers sent from Hungary could lead to new irritations: How the Internet Portal ". Origo hu" on Wednesday reported that Orban was the EU Commission to send an incomplete English translation of the Media Act. should be - among other things lacking in the clever to Brussels version a provision that the conversion of audio-visual media to digital only in 2014 - and not, as required by the European Commission at the end of this year.

The media authority said, claimed that this first translation, it is only the "essential parts of the law." The missing parts could be "the understanding of the media law does not affect in spirit." In the translation obviously also lack the so-called transitional provisions. These indicated that the media-control authority by 1 i no criminal proceedings on the basis of the new law introduces.

Officially it was said that the media staff should be "time to adjust" get. Observers suspect, however, that should be avoided that the local media covered during the Hungarian EU presidency to penalties would. Barroso on Friday to talk to Orban on the Media Act. The controversy overshadowed the start of the six-month EU presidency in Hungary.

The law was partly due to the creation of a supervisory authority, in Orban's party members are only active in other EU countries, we have Germany, France and Britain criticized.

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