The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted on Wednesday to introduce enhanced monitoring procedures in Hungary due to “problems related to the rule of law” which PACE believes remain “unanswered”, it said in a statement.

Parliamentarians of the Council of Europe, who gathered this week for the autumn session of its Assembly, voted (95 votes in favor, 25 against, one abstention) to start the full monitoring procedure (full monitoring procedure) regarding Budapest, reports APCE press. release, reports AFP and Agerpres.

This procedure “envisages regular visits by two PACE rapporteurs, constant dialogue with the authorities and periodic assessments of the extent to which the member state complies with its obligations to the Council of Europe,” PACE said, according to which “for a long time, persistent problems related to rule of law and democracy” in the country, “remain largely unanswered”.

Hungary, where ultraconservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been in power since 2010, joins ten other Council of Europe member states currently under similar control: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Serbia, Turkey. and Ukraine, PACE, detailed in the document.

In a resolution based on the report, the Assembly particularly emphasizes “the widespread use of cardinal laws that require a two-thirds majority” and which “severely limit political pluralism, (…) a hallmark of a democratic system.”

In addition, Hungary’s electoral system “does not guarantee fair conditions leading to fair elections,” APCE said, noting that “a series of 17 amendments to existing laws were introduced last month, aimed at improving the functioning of democratic institutions, increasing transparency. and (…) rules on conflict of interest”.

APCE also suggested that “the Hungarian authorities seek the expertise of the competent bodies of the Council of Europe regarding these changes,” according to a press release cited by France Presse.