Transparency International (TI) Hungary, in cooperation with Connect Europe Association, is organising an international conference entitled Protecting European values and the EU budget – Rule of law and transparency: weak points in Hungary’s EU presidency programme. The Democracy Institute of the Central European University (CEU) is a supporting partner of the event. With the participation of high-level EU officials, politicians, think-tanks, and civil society organisations involved in monitoring the use of EU funds, the conference will take stock of the Hungarian presidency’s performance so far and assess the rule of law situation and the state of democracy in Hungary. The conference will be opened by Vera Jourová, the European Commission’s Vice-President for Values and Transparency.
The programme of Hungary’s six-month EU presidency does not foresee much action for the protection of the rule of law and the fight against corruption, despite the fact that these are fundamental values of the EU. In fact, Hungary is the only EU country facing legal actions and having its EU funding partially suspended for systematically breaching EU rules and norms in these areas.
How much progress has Hungary made in implementing the milestones set under the ongoing rule of law procedure? What conclusions can be drawn so far from the rule of law procedure against Hungary – the first of its kind in the EU – regarding the efficiency and transparency of this instrument? How is the EU tackling corruption and breaches of the rule of law in other member states? Can we expect much progress in the inter-institutional negotiations on the new EU anti-corruption directive during the Hungarian EU presidency? How can the EU involve civil society organisations more efficiently at the national level in protecting the bloc’s fundamental rights and values and the EU budget? Do Hungary’s sovereignty protection law and the procedures launched against independent media outlets and civil society organisations by the Sovereignty Protection Office breach the EU’s fundamental values? Do we need new rules to protect the EU budget and fundamental European values?
The one-day international conference jointly organised by Transparency International (TI) Hungary and Connect Europe will look into these issues with high-level level EU officials, politicians, think-tanks and civil society organisation involved in monitoring the use of EU funds.
Date: Monday, 4 November 2024, 10AM CET-6PM CET
Venue: Auditorium, Central European University – CEU, 15 street Nádor, H-1051
Our keynote speakers include: János Bóka, Hungary’s EU Affairs Minister, Verá Jourová, the European Commission’s Vice-President for Values and Transparency, and Tineke Strik, Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and Rapporteur on the rule of law in Hungary.
Our panelists include: Nicholas Aiossa, Director of Transparency International EU, Pertti Anttinen, Finland’s Ambassador to Hungary, Miroslav Cák, Partner at AGM Law Firm, Katalin Cseres, Associate Professor of Law at the Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance (ACELG), Julia Gross, Germany’s Ambassador to Hungary, Krzysztof Izdebski, Member of the Board of Directors of the Polish NGO Batory Foundation, Bálint Magyar, Senior Research Fellow at the Central European University Democracy Institute, former Minister of Education, Hungary, Márta Pardavi, Co-Chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Annemie Turtelboom, Chair of the Audit Chamber II (Investment for Cohesion, Growth and Inclusion) of the European Court of Auditors, Michal Wawrykiewitz, Vice-Coordinator of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
Participation in the event is free, but registration is required. Registrations will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis up to the capacity of the venue. Please, fill this form to register. You may also find the event on our FB-profile.
The language of the event is English, with simultaneous interpretation into Hungarian.
We warmly welcome all interested parties!
