Secretary General

"President Barroso and Secretary General Jagland take note of the adoption today of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution by the Hungarian Parliament.

Unfortunately, experts from the Council of Europe and from the European Commission did not have the opportunity to discuss and clarify in detail the content of these amendments before their adoption.

These amendments raise concerns with respect to the principle of the rule of law, EU law and Council of Europe standards.

The Council of Europe (Venice Commission) and the European Commission will now make a detailed assessment of these amendments, as adopted today.

President Barroso and Secretary General Jagland take also note of the confirmation made by Prime Minister Orban, in his letter addressed to President Barroso last Friday 8 of March, of the full commitment of the Hungarian Government and Parliament to the European norms and values. In this sense, they expect that the Hungarian authorities will engage in bilateral contacts with the European institutions in order to address any concerns raised as to the compatibility of these amendments with European principles and EU law."