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The Trajectory of Democracy—Why Hungary Matters THE TRAJECTORY OF DEMOCRACY—WHY HUNGARY MATTERS HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 19, 2013 Printed for the use of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe ( Available via http://www.csce.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 95–506 WASHINGTON : 2015 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:35 Aug 11, 2015 Jkt 095506 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\A506.XXX A506 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS SENATE HOUSE BENJAMIN CARDIN, Maryland, CHRISTOPHER SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman Co-Chairman SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania TOM UDALL, New Mexico ROBERT ADERHOLT, Alabama JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire PHIL GINGREY, Georgia RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut MICHAEL BURGESS, Texas ROGER WICKER, Mississippi ALCEE HASTINGS, Florida SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER, JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas New York MIKE MCINTYRE, North Carolina STEVE COHEN, Tennessee (II) VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Aug 11, 2015 Jkt 095506 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A506.XXX A506 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS THE TRAJECTORY OF DEMOCRACY—WHY HUNGARY MATTERS MARCH 19, 2013 COMMISSIONERS Page Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman, Commission on Secu- rity and Cooperation in Europe .............................................. 1 WITNESSES Brent Hartley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State ......................... 3 The Honorable Jozsef Szajer, Hungarian Member of the Eu- ropean Parliament, Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union ............. 8 Kim Lane Scheppele, Director of Program in Law and Public Affairs, Princeton University .................................................. 20 Sylvana Habdank-Kolaczkowska, Director, Nations in Tran- sit, Freedom House .................................................................. 25 Paul A. Shapiro, Director, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum .......... 27 APPENDICES Prepared Statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin .................... 34 Prepared Statement of Hon. Christopher Smith ...................... 36 Prepared Statement of Brent Hartley ....................................... 37 Prepared Statement of Jozsef Szajer ......................................... 40 Prepared Statement of Kim Lane Scheppele ............................ 43 Prepared Statement of Sylvana Habdank-Kolaczkowska ........ 55 Prepared Statement of Paul A. Shapiro .................................... 57 Testimony Concerning the Condition of Religious Freedom in Hungary, H. David Baer .................................................... 68 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Aug 11, 2015 Jkt 095506 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0484 E:\HR\OC\A506.XXX A506 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Aug 11, 2015 Jkt 095506 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0484 E:\HR\OC\A506.XXX A506 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS THE TRAJECTORY OF DEMOCRACY—WHY HUNGARY MATTERS MARCH 19, 2013 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE, Washington, DC. The hearing was held at 3:00 p.m. EST in the Capitol Visitor Center, Senate Room 210–212, Washington, District of Columbia, Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman of the Commission on Se- curity and Cooperation in Europe, presiding. Commissioners present: Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Witnesses present: Brent Hartley, Deputy Assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State; The Honorable Jozsef Szajer, Hungarian Member of the European Par- liament, Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union; Lane Scheppele, Director, Program in Law and Public Affairs, Princeton University; Sylvana Habdank-Kolaczkowska, Director for Nations in Transit, Freedom House; and Paul A. Shapiro, Director, Center for Advanced Holo- caust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. HON. BENJAMIN CARDIN, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE Mr. CARDIN. Well, good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for being here. This is the first hearing of the Helsinki Commission in this Congress. I can’t think of a more appropriate subject than to talk about the trajectory of democracy, why Hungary matters. I want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today. I particu- larly want to thank Mr. Szajer, who’s here from Hungary to rep- resent the government, or at least inform us, from the—from the country’s point of view, what is happening in Hungary. That makes this hearing, I think, even more helpful to us. And I thank you very much for your participation. The progressive inclusion of post-communist countries into trans- Atlantic and European institutions reflected the expansion of de- mocracy and shared values, as well as the realization of aspirations long denied. Indeed, in 1997 the Helsinki Commission held a series of hearings to examine the historic transition to democracy of post- communist candidate countries like Hungary prior to NATO expan- sion. I was one among many of the legislators that cheered when Hun- gary was—joined NATO in 1999, and again when Hungary joined the EU in 2004—illustrating not only Hungary’s post-communist transformation, but also Hungary’s ability to join alliances of its own choosing and follow a path of its own design. Hungary has (1) VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Aug 11, 2015 Jkt 095506 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\A506.XXX A506 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS 2 been a valued friend and partner as we have sought to extend the benefits of democracy in Europe and elsewhere around the globe. But today concerns have arisen among Hungary’s friends. We, the United States, value our friendship and our strategic relation- ship with Hungary. As a friend, we are concerned about the trajec- tory of democracy in that country. Over the past two years, Hun- gary has instituted sweeping and controversial changes to its con- stitutional framework, effectively remaking the country’s entire legal foundation. This has included the adoption of a new constitution, already amended multiple times, including the adoption of a far-reaching fourth amendment just days ago, and hundreds of new laws on ev- erything from elections, to the media, to religious organizations. More than that, these changes have affected the independence of judiciary, role of the constitutional court, the balance of power and the basic checks and balances that were in place to safeguard de- mocracy. It seems to me that any country that would undertake such volu- minous and profound changes would find itself in the spotlight. But these changes have also coincided with a rise of extremism and in- tolerance in Hungary. Mob demonstrations have continued to ter- rorize Roma neighborhoods. Fascist-era figures have been promoted in public discourse and the public places. A new law on religion stripped scores of minorities’ faiths of their legal status as religious organizations overnight, including initially Coptic Christians, Mormons and the Reformed Jewish Congrega- tion. Most have been unable to regain legal status, including the Evangelical Methodist Fellowship, a church that had to survive as an illegal church during the communist period and today serves many Roma communities. At the same time, the constituencies of Hungary have been rede- fined on an ethnic basis. Citizenship has been extended into neigh- boring states on an ethnic basis and voting rights now follow that. As the late Ambassador Max Kampelman once observed: Minorities are like the canary in the coal mine. In the end, democracy and mi- nority rights stand or fall together—if respect for minorities falls, democracy cannot be far behind. And the rights of persons belong- ing to ethnic, religious, and linguistic minority groups will likely suffer in the absence of a robust democracy. Max Kampelman, a long-time friend of the Helsinki Commission, served with distinction as the head of the U.S. delegation to the seminal 1990 Copenhagen meetings, where some of the most im- portant democracy commitments ever articulated in the OSCE were adopted. The participating States, and I quote from that document, con- sidered that ‘‘the rule of law does not mean merely a formal legal- ity which assures regularity and consistency in the achievement and enforcement of democratic order, but justice based on the rec- ognition and full acceptance of the supreme value of the human personality and guaranteed by institutions providing a framework for its fullest expression. They reaffirm that democracy is an inher- ent element of the rule of law.’’ At issue now is whether Hungary’s democratically elected gov- ernment is steadily eroding the democratic norms to which Hun- VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Aug 11, 2015 Jkt 095506 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 E:\HR\OC\A506.XXX A506 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS 3 gary has committed itself, in the OSCE and elsewhere. And we care about democracy in Hungary, for the people in Hungary as well as for the example it sets everywhere we seek to promote de- mocracy. I welcome all of our witnesses today, and let me thank you all for being here. It really—I think this will be a hearing
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