Hungary Urges EU Action over Slovak Law on Benes Decrees

Budapest/Bratislava, 8 January (TASR-correspondent) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief adviser on Hungarians abroad, Katalin Szili, has sent an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging Brussels to intervene over a recent legislative change in Slovakia related to the Benes Decrees, TASR's special correspondent in Budapest reported on Thursday. The letter, also published on social media, has been highlighted by the hungarytoday.hu website. In response, the Slovak Government Office said via social media on Thursday that it respects the steps taken by the Hungarian prime minister's chief adviser in addressing the European Commission. According to the website, Budapest objects to an amendment to Slovakia's Criminal Code under which public criticism of the so-called Benes Decrees – regulations that formed the basis for the confiscation of property and the expulsion of ethnic minorities after the Second World War – has become a criminal offence. Violations are punishable by up to six months in prison, hungarytoday.hu noted. In Szili's view, the regulation attacks the foundations of the European legal system. She said that the law is in clear conflict with Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression and information, and she referred to case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, freedom of expression enjoys special protection when dealing with coming to terms with the past and state responsibility. The Strasbourg court has repeatedly made it clear that a state may not enforce a "historical truth" via criminal law, the chief adviser recalled. The criminalisation of critical voices is disproportionate and undemocratic, she added. According to the Slovak Government Office, if a question arises between good neighbours as to whether a domestic regulation of one of them is or isn't in line with EU law, there are mechanisms to resolve such an issue. mf/df