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Hungary, COVID19 and the Rule of Law
7 April 2020
In the latest episode of our new podcast series COVID-19: The Pandemic and Europe we will be focusing on Hungary and the country's newly implemented Coronavirus Protection Law.
Dr Thomas Lorman, Teaching Fellow in Modern Central European History, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Dr Sean Hanley, Associate Professor in Comparative Central and East European Politics, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Dr Ronan McCrea, Professor of Constitutional and European Law, UCL Faculty of Laws
COVID-19 presents governments all over the world with unprecedented challenges. Many have introduced extraordinary measures to address the crisis and to protect their citizens. However, Coronavirus has also provided cover to governments with more authoritarian leanings to seize the moment and an inordinate amount of new powers.
Hungary was already the EU's worst offender when it came to the erosion of democratic standards. But with the new law, the Hungarian parliament has now de-facto deferred unlimited emergency powers on Prime Minister Victor Orban.
In this latest episode of our new podcast series COVID-19: The Pandemic and Europe, EI Executive Director Uta Staiger explores the significance of these new developments together with Thomas Lorman, Teaching Fellow in Modern Central European History at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), Sean Hanley, Associate Professor at SSEES, and RonanMcCrea, Professor of Constitutional and European Law.
This podcast was recorded on Saturday 4 April. The speed of coronavirus developments means there may be new information by the time you listen. In the coming weeks, we will continue to provide more content and analysis as the situation develops. For the latest updates, please subscribe to our email newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
