Status: 05.04.2022 5:16 p.m
It is a historic step: the EU is taking action against Hungary for violations of the rule of law. Commission President von der Leyen announced this. The country is now threatened, among other things, with cuts in EU funds.
Hungary is the first country to face legal action over possible violations of the rule of law – which could result in cuts in EU funds. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in the Strasbourg European Parliament that her authority would take the first step in the so-called rule of law mechanism. The EU Commission informed the Hungarian authorities about this.
“Corruption problem” in Hungary
“In Hungary, we made it very clear, the problem is corruption,” said von der Leyen. The Brussels authority accuses Orban’s government of allowing EU funds to seep away into dark channels.
It is currently not possible to find a common denominator. Von der Leyen received applause for her announcement in Parliament. In order for Hungary to actually have EU funds cut, the final step still requires the approval of at least 15 of the EU states with 65 percent of the EU population. Budapest has several opportunities to comment on the allegations beforehand.
The so-called EU rule of law mechanism has been in force since the beginning of 2021. Its purpose is to ensure that violations of the rule of law, such as the separation of powers, no longer go unpunished if they threaten to misuse EU funds.
Poland and Hungary get billions
Poland and Hungary saw themselves as being particularly in the focus of the instrument and therefore complained to the European Court of Justice. However, he dismissed the lawsuits in February. Both countries receive several billion euros from the joint budget every year.
However, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban should feel encouraged in his course. His right-wing nationalist Fidesz party clearly won the parliamentary elections on Sunday. She received 53 percent of the votes and thus secured a constitution-amending two-thirds majority in parliament for the fourth time in a row.
The European Parliament has been putting pressure on the EU Commission to trigger the rule of law mechanism for a long time. However, the authority always emphasized that it wanted to wait for the ECJ ruling. As a result, no case was lost, said von der Leyen. Parliament even sued the EU Commission before the ECJ for its hesitancy – the proceedings are still ongoing.
“Good news”, but also “missed”
Accordingly, MEPs welcomed von der Leyen’s announcement. “It is absolutely right that Ursula von der Leyen is introducing sanctions for the Orban government’s massive violations of the rule of law,” said Green MP Daniel Freund. At the same time, however, he criticized: “But it could already be too late for Hungary’s democracy.” The EU Commission missed the right time for consistent action against Orban by years.
The FDP MP Moritz Körner spoke of “good news for democracy in Europe”. “However, the late activation also has a bland aftertaste.” With the late decision, von der Leyen gave Prime Minister Orban four more years in office. He could now continue the “demolition of Hungarian democracy”.