Hungarian deputy PM says will veto any EU's sanction decision on Poland

BUDAPEST, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen on Wednesday termed as unprecedented and incredible the European Commission's decision to launch the Article 7 procedure against Poland over its controversial judicial reforms.

"The decision seriously violates the sovereignty of Poland," Semjen said in an interview with Hungarian news agency MTI.

"It is unacceptable that Brussels put pressure on sovereign states and arbitrarily punish democratically elected governments," he added.

"The Polish-Hungarian friendship and the commitment of the Hungarian government towards the treaties oblige us to oppose the European Commission's decision on all the forums," Semjen stressed.

"The Hungarian government is today and in the future standing by Poland and will continue to protect Poland against an unfair, and conceptual political process," he said.

To MTI's question of whether this could mean that Hungary would veto the decision against Poland, Semjen replied with a firm "yes".

Earlier on Wednesday, the European Commission said in a statement that it has triggered Article 7 and launched an unprecedented censure against Poland over a judicial reform dispute.

"The Commission has today concluded that there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland," it said.

Dubbed so-called "nuclear option", Article 7 has never been triggered against any EU member state before. The procedure could eventually lead to Poland losing its voting rights in the 28-member bloc.

Under Article 7, the European Council, or heads of national governments, may declare that there is a risk of a serious breach of European values by a member state.

Such a declaration requires a four-fifths majority and may subsequently involve sanctions against the member state in question. Among other consequences, the country could be stripped of its vote in the European Council.

Semjen said that it was unfair that the European Commission did nothing when some European member states failed to comply with European treaties, while it then "politically initiated proceedings against the Polish government".

"This is a typical case of double standards, and what the European Commission is doing now goes against the European values," Semjen underlined.

He also said that Central Europe and Poland were today the engines of European economic development. "Europe needs Poland," he added. Enditem