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The presence of Lazlo Trocsanyi at a conference on the EU arouses incomprehension in certain circles. The former Hungarian Minister of Justice was the architect of his country’s authoritarian drift, undermining democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
The University of Friborg will welcome a controversial Hungarian personality this Tuesday for Europe Day. © Aldo Ellena-A
Published on 05.05.2024
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
“I am concerned that the University of Fribourg, a great university with which I have a strong bond of respect and recognition, risks being used by those who aim to trivialize the far right.” The title of doctor honoris causa from the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences of the University of Friborg does not prevent the Italian Sandro Gozi from being a MEP disappointed by the choice of the institution to place Lazlo Trocsanyi at the head of the poster for Europe Day this Tuesday, focusing on 20 years of the EU’s enlargement to the East.
Lazlo Trocsanyi? On today’s program, the profile is solid: member of the European Parliament (European People’s Party), current rector of the Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church of Hungary and former Hungarian Minister of Justice. What the invitation card does not say is that he is one of the architects of the “illiberal” drift of his country.
Drift Craftsman from Hungary
The reputation of the 68-year-old Hungarian preceded him. “Lazlo Trocsanyi can be considered a key legal architect of the illiberal and semi-authoritarian regime that has ruled Hungary since 2010,” says Daniel Hegedus, senior researcher at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, specialist in Central Europe. “And as such, he is not a representative of the EU’s fundamental values, but rather their gravedigger.”
Minister of Justice in Hungary between 2014 and 2019, he is the author of the judicial reform which resulted in Hungary triggering the mechanism of Article 7 of the EU Treaty in 2018 capable of suspending the right to vote of a Member State to the Council of the EU. A rare procedure which occurs if one of the members of the Union does not respect fundamental values such as freedoms, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, etc.
“Unity cannot prevent pluralism of ideas and opinions”
Lazlo Trocsanyi
Lazlo Trocsanyi contributed by playing a decisive role in the preparation and codification of two repressive laws introduced in 2017 by the Hungarian Government: the Russian-style NGO law, which targeted and intimidated independent civil society organizations, and the “lex CEU” which forced the Central European University, co-founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, to move to Vienna in 2019.
“The Court of Justice of the European Union subsequently ruled that these two laws constituted a flagrant violation of European legislation,” adds Daniel Hegedus. “The same goes for the so-called “Stop Soros” legislation of 2018, which criminalized NGOs helping refugees and asylum seekers in Hungary.”
So many records of service which cut off Lazlo Trocsanyi’s momentum towards the position of European Commissioner for Enlargement that Ursula von der Leyen, then future president of the European Commission, promised him in 2019. Faced with the outcry caused by this appointment, he was forced to recuse himself.
“A maligned personality”
Requested by Freedom, the main person concerned assumes his record under the reign of Orban. “I am proud of my past work as Minister of Justice,” he underlines. “During my term, among other things, we were able to reform all important codes of judicial procedure. The result is applauded by all bodies.” Although he admits to being convinced of the importance for Hungary of being a member of the EU, this does not mean always agreeing with everyone. “It is no coincidence that the European Union has adopted as its motto: unity in diversity. Unity cannot prevent the pluralism of ideas and opinions,” he argues.
But the diversity of opinions does not justify the slippages denounced by the EU. This is why some see it as a casting error. “It has no place in such an event,” says Gilbert Casasus, former director of the Center for European Studies at the University of Fribourg. “Lazlo Trocsanyi is on the same line as the autocrat Viktor Orban. He is a maligned personality who has undermined European values. He was also suspected of conflicts of interest, even corruption.”
Amnesty International Switzerland agrees: “According to the principles of neutrality and exemplarity which should guide it, the university should check whether the personalities it invites are not involved in human rights violations nor do they call for hatred by their words,” said its spokesperson Nadia Boehlen.
“The university takes care of dialogue”
In this case, the diversity of views regarding the EU, language issues and availability served as criteria for the choice of speakers. “We are well aware that Mr Trocsanyi’s positions were not always in line with EU values as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU (including the rule of law), but this is not a reason to exclude it from the framework of a discussion”, estimates Astrid Epiney, who planned, in agreement with the Center for European Studies, the program last fall, when she was still rector of the university. “He is a member of the European Parliament and represents an EU member country. The university is a place where we take care – while respecting the legal framework – of dialogue with everyone and in suitable formats.”
And to remember that this will not be a conference, but an open discussion respecting each other’s opinions. “We would not have invited him as the only speaker,” she assures us. He will share the podium at 5:15 p.m. with four others, including Poland’s former deputy human rights commissioner Hanna Machinska, Petro Mavromichalis, EU ambassador to Switzerland, Astrid Epiney and Natasha Wunsch, director of the Center for European Studies.
Gilbert Casasus sees this as a protocol imbalance, Lazlo Trocsanyi having had the highest position among the guests. “We have to be careful of diplomatic blunders,” he slips. In reference to the absence of an official reception during the visit of former socialist prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to the University of Friborg in 2019. It had gone down badly with the French services.
