Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias, said on Wednesday that the procedure for assessing violations of the rule of law in Poland and Hungary may be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Portuguese chair [of the Council of the European Union (EU)] will continue to hold hearings for the two Member States concerned [Poland and Hungary], but these are imperative face-to-face and we are constrained by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said in a debate with MEPs on the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee.
She highlighted European resilience, “in particular the rule of law”, among the priorities of the Portuguese six-month presidency, highlighting the commitment “to dialogue under Article 7”.