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Proposal to the EP for introducing the Hungarian asset declaration system – letter to President Roberta Metsola

2023. 01. 20.

Tamás Deutsch, Head of the Fidesz Delegation to the European Parliament, has written a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the leaders of the EP political groups. In his letter, the Head of the Delegation proposes the adoption of the Hungarian asset declaration system in order to restore public confidence shaken by corruption in Brussels and to create greater transparency.

In view of the respect for rule of law and the fact that “the European Commission’s clear view is that the European Parliament’s asset declaration system has proved to be inadequate in the case of one Member State, we propose that the European Parliament should introduce the current asset declaration system of the Hungarian National Assembly, which, when reintroduced, already fully complied with the Commission’s rule-of-law standards and could thus certainly contribute to the fight against corruption in the European Parliament”, writes Tamás Deutsch. 

The full letter can be found below:

Roberta Metsola

President of the European Parliament

Brussels, 20 January 2023

Honourable Madame President,

The European Parliament has been involved in a serious corruption scandal that has shaken the institution’s already tarnished credibility and caused irreparable damage to the image of the EU institutional system as a whole. Immediate, firm action is needed to restore public confidence. In order to do so, I would like to make a particular proposal.

In recent years, one of the recurring elements of political attacks on Hungary has been the condemnation of the Hungarian National Assembly’s asset declaration system. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council have unanimously identified the system of Members’ declarations of assets as one of the most fundamental pillars of the rule of law.

The so-called “rule of law” objections were in fact ideologically driven political attacks, distanced from facts and reality. However, in the summer of 2022, in the spirit of good faith cooperation and in order to bring the disputes to an end as soon as possible, the Hungarian National Assembly amended its asset declaration system by adopting verbatim the asset declaration system used by the European Parliament. 

In autumn 2022, the European Commission shockingly declared the new Hungarian asset declaration system, which is identical to the European Parliament’s legislation, unacceptable and required the re-adoption of the previous system. The Hungarian National Assembly, therefore, immediately returned to the original, much stricter Hungarian system.

Based on the European Commission’s statement that the system of Members’ assets declaration is one of the most fundamental pillars of the rule of law, and in light of the fact that the European Commission’s clear view is that the European Parliament’s asset declaration system has proved to be insufficient in the case of one Member State, we propose that the European Parliament should introduce the current asset declaration system of the Hungarian National Assembly, which, when reintroduced, already fully complied with the Commission’s rule-of-law standards and could thus certainly contribute to the eradication of corruption in the European Parliament.

Should you require further information, we are at your disposal.

Sincerely yours,

Tamás Deutsch MEP

Head of the Fidesz delegation to the European Parliament

Copy to:

Manfred Weber, Chairman, EPP Group

Iratxe García Pérez, Chairman, S&D Group

Stéphane Séjourné, President, Renew Europe Group

Terry Reintke, Philippe Lamberts, Co-Presidents, Greens/EFA

Marco Zanni, President, ID Group

Ryszard Legutko, Chairman, ECR Group 

Manon Aubry, Martin Schirdewan, Co-Presidents, The Left

Attachment:

Act XXXVI of 2012 on the National Assembly