“Don’t be blackmailed”
Barley demands a clear edge from the EU against Orban
11/26/2022 1:52 p.m
Within the EU institutions, Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban and his right-wing Fidesz party have too often been wrapped in cotton wool, says the Vice President of the European Parliament. According to Barley, German conservatives also played a role in this. She advocates a change of course.
The Vice-President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, has called on the EU to take a hard line against Hungary in the rule of law dispute. As demanded by the European Parliament, Viktor Orban’s government would have to be deprived of 7.5 billion euros in funding, Barley told the AFP news agency in Brussels. A recommendation from the EU Commission to the member states is expected next Wednesday.
“We have to make it clear to Orban: As long as the anti-corruption measures in Hungary are practically not implemented, you will not get any money,” said Barley. “It seems to me that the message from the European Parliament has meanwhile reached the EU Commission. The penny seems to have dropped at the head of the Commission, too,” she added, alluding to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Orban wants to give the impression that he is fooling the EU,” Barley said. “We must not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” she warned. “If the EU gives in, we will signal to Orban that his provocations will succeed.” That would not only be a “fatal signal” to right-wing governments like in Italy, but also “to all pro-Europeans.”
“CSU courted Orban”
“The rule of law mechanism would then also be dead,” emphasized the SPD politician. In April, the EU Commission initiated proceedings under the new rule of law mechanism against Hungary for the misuse of EU funds and corruption. This means that a member country can have billions in subsidies cut if there is a risk of damage to the EU budget. In the case of Hungary, the EU finance ministers could decide this on December 6th and thus set a precedent.
“The conservatives in the European People’s Party (EPP) must be accused of having approved of Orban’s actions for nine years,” criticized Barley. “That was the fall from grace in the EU.” After numerous scandals, Orban’s Fidesz party left the EPP, which also includes the CDU and CSU, in early 2021. “In Germany, the CSU in particular has repeatedly courted Orban,” emphasized Barley. “But the chancellor at the time, Angela Merkel, was also inactive for too long.”