The Hungarian Minister for Justice expects the European Commission to arrange a three-way dialogue on the Tobin case, and Vice-President Viviane Reding to exert the maximum political pressure to ensure that the values of the EU are upheld by all Member States, including Ireland.

On Friday the Facebook page of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, which is headed by Mr. Navracsics, announced that the minister had that day sent an answer to EU Commissioner and Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding, who herself has recently replied to an earlier letter from Mr. Navracsics. The minister’s letter on the community portal states that ‘It is a system problem within the European Union, and a contravention of the fundamental values of the European Union, for a crime to remain unpunished in any Member State which was committed by a citizen of an EU country in the EU, and which resulted in the deaths of two children who were citizens of that Member State. For this reason, Mr. Navracsics has requested the intervention of EU Commissioner and Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding.’

The ministry announced that the letter from Mr. Navracsics emphasises that there is no need to promote bilateral dialogue with his Irish counterpart, as this already exists. He expects the instigation of three-way dialogue from the Commission and Viviane Reding, who should exert maximum political pressure to ensure that the values of the EU are respected in all Member States, including Ireland.

On 9 April 2000, the Irish citizen Francis Ciarán Tobin caused the deaths of two children while driving through the Hungarian town of Leányfalu. In 2002 a Hungarian court sentenced him in absentia to 18 months’ imprisonment. This June the Irish Supreme Court finally rejected the Hungarian authorities’ extradition request.

Approximately four months ago Mr. Navracsics wrote to the European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding, asking for help in solving the case. On Wednesday the Minister told journalists that he enjoys good relations with his Irish counterpart, so what he has requested from the Commissioner is not mediation but a ‘solution’. He said that a solution is needed which prevents a person responsible for a traffic accident killing two children in a Member State of the European Union from then failing to serve a sentence duly handed down in a court of law in that Member State. He is asking the commission to ‘attempt to arrive at a solution in which Ireland enforces the Hungarian court’s sentence, or hands Mr. Tobin over to the Hungarian authorities.’ He said that the European Union, ‘may, for example, exert political pressure, and formulate legislation which prevents any future instance of a country demanding the exclusive right to disregard the authority of a legal institution with powers accepted as binding.’

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)