The Fundamental Law of Hungary and the European Constitutional Values

La legge fondamentale dell'Ungheria e i valori costituzionali europei

Abstract

This article deals with the backsliding of liberal democracy in Hungary, after the 2011 new constitution, called the Fundamental Law, and also with the
ways in which the European Union has coped with the deviations from the shared values of rule of law and democracy in one of its Member States. The article argues
that during the fight over the compliance with the core values of the EU pronounced in Article 2 TEU with the Hungarian government, the EU institutions so far have proven incapable of enforcing compliance, which has considerably undermined not only the legitimacy of the Commission but also that of the entire rule-of-law oversight.

Keywords: Fundamental Law of Hungary; Article 2 and 7 TEU; democratic backsliding; rule-of-law mechanism; constitutional identity.