Orbán Gov t Accused of Using Pegasus Spyware Against Political Opponents, Journalists hungarytoday.hu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hungarytoday.hu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Justice Minister Calls for Strengthening CoE
Justice Minister Judit Varga on Monday called for strengthening the role of the Council of Europe (CoE), saying that the European Union “should not be allowed to overshadow” the organisation’s mandate.
Addressing a meeting of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Varga noted that Hungary will take over the rotating six-month presidency of the CoE’s Committee of Ministers later this month.
The minister said the principle that the council’s member states should be united in their values and ideas was just as valid today as it had been at the time of the founding of the organisation 70 years ago. However, diversity and national sovereignty are equally important, Varga said, arguing that the council’s member states differed in their legal, cultural and historical traditions.
FM Szijjártó to Blinken: US Should Not Worry about Democracy and Freedom in Hungary
Hungary lacks a democratic level of media freedom and is at risk of being heavily influenced by Moscow and Beijing, according to Secretary of State for the United States Anthony Blinken. In an online roundtable discussion with journalists from countries considered to have insufficient levels of media freedom, Blinken believes that Hungary needs a greater diversity of independent voices and opinions. The Biden Administration has made clear its intention of wanting positive relations with Hungary but standing by its commitment to support media freedom and the rule of law. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that the United States should not worry about democracy and freedom in Hungary.
Reporters Without Borders has updated its World Press Freedom Index, ranking Hungary three places lower than last year, and describing the state of Hungary’s media freedom as the EU’s “alternative, repressive model.” Government official Zoltán Kovács reacted to the ranking on Twitter, describing the NGO as a “Soros-funded group” that makes “false, idiotic claims.”
The international non-governmental organization, known for highlighting levels of media freedom and criticizing censorship, recently shared its 2021 World Press Freedom Index.
Dunja Mijatovic, human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, said in a memorandum on Tuesday that it was “high time for Hungary to restore journalistic and media freedoms”. In reaction, representatives of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, the justice ministry, and media authority NMHH called the memorandum “biased,” based on “assumption rather than facts.” […]Continue reading
Austrian Journalist s Questions to Fidesz Spark Diplomatic Tension hungarytoday.hu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hungarytoday.hu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.