Hungary's involvement in an international cannabis vote led the country to be condemned by the European Justice. According to Swissinfo, the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU) decided that the Hungarian government violated the Union's right by taking a stand against a decision previously agreed upon by the bloc in a United Nations (UN) vote.

The controversy involves the 2020 vote at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which considered the proposal to remove cannabis from the most restrictive list of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The measure followed recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and aimed to acknowledge medical and scientific uses of the plant.

Vote against EU common position

As per the publication, before the vote, the European Union countries had defined a common position in favor of reclassification. However, Hungary voted against the proposal and made public statements against it during the session, contradicting the agreement among the Member States.

The European Commission brought the case to the Court of Justice, arguing that the country failed to act in a coordinated manner in international forums when there is an established common position.

Court of Justice Decision

In its ruling, the CJEU concluded that Hungary breached European law by acting unilaterally. According to Swissinfo, the court emphasized that changes in the international classification of cannabis can impact internal EU regulations and, therefore, require a unified external representation of the bloc.

The court also stated that a Member State cannot disregard a common position by later claiming it would be illegal, reinforcing the principle of cooperation among EU countries in international decisions.

Source: Content originally published on the portal  Swissinfo