EU Fights Back: Preps Sanctions Against Hungary

In an unprecedented move, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Wednesday calling for sanctions against Hungary under Article 7 of EU Treaty, which allows the European Parliament to strip a member of its rights for violating Article 2 of the treaty.

Article 2 states that the European “Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”

“After 7 years of systematic breaches of our values in #Hungary, the activation of #Article7 is the only solution.”

“For the @EPPGroup it is clear: European fundamental values like academic freedom are non-negotiable. #Hungary,” European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber tweeted before the vote. “After 7 years of systematic breaches of our values in #Hungary, the activation of #Article7 is the only solution,” tweeted MEP Viviane Reding.

The move, coming in the wake of a landslide victory for pro-E.U. Emmanuel Macron in the French election, represents the most aggressive yet against growing anti-globalist sentiment in several Central European nations.

Hungarian officials, of course, dispute the rhetoric coming from the E.U., which paints sovereign policies — meant to curb mass Muslim migration, expanded economic globalization, and a limitation on foreign-funded NGOs — as anti-democratic.

“‘Undermining democracy’ is very much a question of what one means by ‘democracy’ — is it rule by the consent of the governed or domination by the values of the liberal elite, regardless of consent?” Hungarian MEP Gyorgy Schöpflin told German newspaper Deutsche Welle earlier this month.

“Contrary to the widespread liberal narrative of ‘democratic backsliding’ in Central Europe, the institutional order in Hungary works well,” said Schöpflin. “The Constitutional Court regularly quashes draft laws passed by parliament, and the EU’s Justice Scoreboard places Hungary in the top third of EU member states,” he said.

The new effort could be a sign the globalist proponents of the European project are emboldened to go on the offensive against European populists after the historic French presidential election.

Rhetoric critical of conservative, nationalist governments in Central European nations featured prominently in the campaign of Macron.

Macron, at one point during the election, vowed to take action against Poland if elected.

“When the rights and values of the European Union are not respected, I want sanctions to be taken,” he told reporters when asked about Poland’s noncompliance with the E.U. migrant scheme.

“In the three months after I’m elected, there will be a decision on Poland,” Macron said. That decision didn’t even take two weeks.

Indeed, only the day before the Hungary vote, the E.U. parliament set a June deadline for both Hungary and Poland to comply with migrant quotas or face sanctions and penalties for defying them.

“Although the majority of Member States report regularly to the new obligations and runs relocation, Hungary, Poland and Austria is the only relocation have not made a single person. This is a violation of their legal obligations, commitments made to Greece and Italy and the principle of fair sharing of responsibility,” the European Commission said in an official statement released Tuesday.

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For the moment both Hungary and Poland appear to be standing their ground. Following the E.U.’s threat Tuesday, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said that acquiescence to the E.U.’s refugee relocation plan could be “certainly be much worse” than any punishment the E.U. might dole out.

“Let us remember what happened in Western Europe. Let us remember the terrorist attacks,” said Błaszczak. “Remember that just started from a relatively small number of Muslim communities, which are now very numerous.”