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Kövér says EU ruling against ban on communist symbols “unacceptable”; Hungary will not yield to political demands for IMF loan
The European Court of Human Rights’ ruling against Hungary in connection with its sanctioning the use symbols of communist dictatorship is morally unacceptable, Hungary’s House Speaker Laszlo Kover said in Strasbourg on Thursday.
At a conference of his counterparts of countries in the Council of Europe, Kover said that the ruling suggested that the Strasbourg court was applying double standards and had different positions concerning the symbols of different dictatorships.
Speaking to MTI on the sidelines of the conference, Kover quoted the late Czech President Vaclav Havel as saying that there is no difference between the swastika and the hammer and sickle, and warned that European court rulings could only be whole-heartedly accepted in EU member states if they had a sound ethical foundation.
Kover added, however, that Hungarian authorities must implement the European ruling, and pay compensation to former Hungarian Workers’ Party leader Janos Fratanolo, who had been fined for wearing a red star in a television interview back in 2007.
The house speaker said that if similar cases should follow, Hungary had to decide whether to “keep paying compensation ad infinitum” or throw out the ban on symbols of dictatorship, both the swastika and the red star.
The Strasbourg ruling, passed on March 8, said that Fratanolo had a right, under the principle of freedom and expression, to wear the star. The European court ruled that Hungary must pay 4,000 euros to Fratanolo and 2,400 euros in legal fees.
Hungary argued at the time that the televised appearance gave public exposure to one of the symbols of tyranny, which is illegal according to Hungarian law.
Political terms for IMF deal out of the question
Hungary will not accept any political conditions from the IMF or EU attached to financial aid but international lenders are free to set certain economic parameters, Kövér said in Strasbourg on Thursday.
Kover said he had met Bundestag speaker Norbert Lammert on the sidelines of a conference of parliamentary speakers from Council of Europe member states, and Lammert had told him that every country must solve its own problems, but if they need help from the community then they must meet certain demands.
“We were in agreement and we made it clear that these conditions, considering that it’s about money, can only be of an economic nature and not political one,” Kover said.
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