The European Commission is reportedly planning to harden its stance against member states who fail to adhere to democracy and the rule of the law.
The European Commission is reportedly planning to harden its stance towards member states who fail to adhere to democracy and the rule of the law.
This move, to be discussed by Commissioners at the end of August, would look at ways of ‘enforcing the observance of fundamental values set out in the EU treaty’, to be followed up by a conference in November ‘bringing together other EU bodies as well as policy makers, judges, lawyers and experts’, according the Financial Times.
The Commission is mulling measures, proposed by the European Parliament last week, which include a ‘Copenhagen Commission’ of independent experts to conduct constant monitoring of all EU states to guard against democratic backsliding.
The so-called Copenhagen criteria are standards on democracy and fundamental rights that all aspiring EU members must meet. Sanctions may include withholding EU funds.
That report was on Hungary, whose democratic breaches have made headlines in recent months. But the Commission has indicated it doesn’t want to be seen to be picking on any particular country.
Perhaps Italy should be next? Here, the heart of original EU, some of the key problems flagged in the rogue new members to the east are painfully evident. For some 20 years now, Italy’s democracy, press freedom, and the independence of the judiciary have been under constant attack, while corruption and organised crime have been flourishing.
The chief culprit in all of this is multi-billionaire Silvio Berlusconi. Although no longer prime minister, he’s still very much at large as leader of one of the largest parties, which is now in a ‘grand coalition’ with the centre-left Democratic Party.
Berlusconi, who has been PM three times since he ‘entered the field’ with his Forza Italia party 20 years ago, has been using office to tackle a seemingly endless stream of legal problems, and to protect his estimated £5.6 billion of private wealth that derives from his huge business interests.
He has also ensured – through control of private TV and political influence over state broadcaster RAI – that his version of events are the truth for millions of Italian households.
Berlusconi is really not the kind of character any country considered democratic would allow anywhere near public office. Over the past year he has received three criminal convictions, for tax fraud, sex with an underage prostitute and wiretapping.
And so Italy maintains its well earned popular reputation as Europe’s banana republic, a country where, according to Italian investigative journalist Marco Travaglio, one its richest citizens has secured no less than 37 ‘ad personam’ laws, where a top politician has relentlessly criticised judges for simply doing their job, and who has undermined, through his actions and words, respect for one of the state’s key functions – tax collection.
Yet confronted with the scandal of this out-of-control oligarch, spearheading ‘a fundamental rights and rule of law crisis’ in the heart of the EU, Brussels has chosen to remain silent, time and again.
Events last week demonstrated yet again just why it should speak up. In an incredible scene, the Italian parliament halted proceedings in protest at a decision by the supreme court aimed at preventing the media magnate from evading – as he has done on a number of occasions in the past – a four-year jail sentence on a technicality.
The real danger is that fundamental principle will be trumped by the desire for political ‘stability’ – today to satisfy the demands of the markets and the Troika for a grand coalition that can implement unpopular ‘reforms’ and austerity measures, just as 20 years ago Berlusconi’s self-interested entry into politics was accepted as the country sought to consolidate the public finances ahead of Italy’s entry into the Single Currency.
It is to be welcomed that EU institutions plan to get tough on member states that flout democratic norms and where illegality reigns. But if is to avoid accusations of double standards it needs to be applied to all, regardless of size and clout.
And when in the name of tackling the sovereign debt crisis the Commission and ECB are placing the burden of adjustment on the little man, doing something about one of Europe’s wealthiest and most arrogant men might even win back some of the EU’s lost credibility, both in Italy and elsewhere.
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18 Responses to “It is not just Hungary that the EU needs to tackle on democracy breaches”
District 7 Democrat
One can certainly not fault Mr Orban’s devotees for their persistence. However, they, as shown with good ole Mr Maryland Man’s outburst above, are presently struggling with the concept of a club (ie the EU) asking them to obey the rules of that club if they are to continue to get the funding that keeps Mr Orban and the Szolnok mafia in the money. If he doesn’t like the rules of the EU with regards normal democratic principles then he should leave it. What the EU should not do is to pander to dictatorships in the making merely for the concept of “EU Unity”.
Selohesra
How ironic that the EU lectures people on democracy
sylvain
All the criticising and denigration of Hungary
is a campaign of the leftist parties of the Hungary and EU, and all their
concern is not the democracy in Hungary, but their loss of power to the
rightist parties, after 8 desatrous years of governing, which threw Hungary at
the brink of financial and economic crumble? The only thing EU want is to bring
back the servile left parties, in order to win back their influence on
Hungary’s economy? Meanwhile the political representatives of the foreign banks
and economical trusts, that took the money out from Hungary without paying any
cent as taxes (which was a real robbery of Hungary) say the false concerns about
democracy and constitution, Hungary’s majority of population show their
preference to vote for the Fidesz government. I ask: what is more important: the
preference of EU and IMF, of who to lead Hungary, or the Hungarian peoples
preference? Because today more than a half of the population still sustain the Fidesz-government. If the preference of the European beaurocracy is more important
then the preference of the people, that shows that EU behaves like a colonial
state towards its colony. This is what EU wants to be? A state thats Eastern
half is the colony of the Western halfs? An organisation that lies about
democracy, wanting to show that it is concerned about the democracy in Hungary?
I ask you where were Tavares and EU, when the Socialist-Liberal government,
former to Fidesz in 2006 unleashed an abusive and aggressive terror, with
mounted troops and rubber bullets on the peaceful citizens who protested
against them, causing for many blindness and severe wounds? Why nobody was
interested in this? Because the government was a government who did everithing
what IMF and EU said, letting all banks to be taken by foreigners, and
destroying all internal economy with bringing huge corporations in the country
that ruined internal economy and brought many Hungarian businesses and
agriculture to bancrupcy. Now that the Fidesz government finally put foreign
banks and corporations who under the Socialist-Liberal government took their
money won in Hungary without paying any taxes this is not loved by those
Western European states that own the banks and corporations, and now they
cannot say that: “we hate you because you put us to pay taxes like
everybody else”, so they lie about democracy in Hungary. Hungary has not
more undemocratic than other EU states. They attack Hungary of antisemitism and
fascism, but Hungary is the only state who has Roma parlamenters in the EU, who
organises every year Jewish festivals and commemoratives on Holocaust, and has
two big museums about Holocaust. Furthermore every national minority in Hungary
has the so called „önkormányzat” autogovernments, cultural and national
autonomy, so they can organize themselfs, use their national symbols freely
everywhere they want, even on public buildings. During the Orbán government
nobody has been attacked, injuried because its origin. Meanwile in Slovakia the
Benes laws still point at the fact that the 460 000 Hungarian minority of the
state is a 2. class citizen, a “guilty nation” (is this not remainds
you of the status of Jews in Hitler’s Germany?), and also Slovakia takes the
citizenship of its Hungarian or not Hungarian citizens who became double
citizens of other states, although the Slovakian constitution says that nobody
should be stripped of his Slovakian citizenship, unless he consents to it.
Those around 50 Hungarian citizens of Slovakia who were stripped of their
Slovakian citizenship wanted to keep their Slovakian citizenship, but the state
took it from them, with all their citizen rights (insurances, health care and
addresses), although the Slovak constitution forbids this. When they went to
the EU, the beaurocrats said that it is an internal affair of Slovakia, which
can do anything to its citizens. The same things happen in Romania, where the
state and its representatives harrass their 1,3 million Hungarian minority, by
forbidding their national symbols, national (city or county) flags (although towns
and counties with Romanian nationality have flags), doing day by day a verbal
aggression in the media or political ways, denigrating the Hungarians as a
nation or people. Every year in EU countries like Romania or Slovakia a number
of people are beaten in the streets, or offended because of being Hungarians,
which is mainly caused by the aggressive nationalist media and political
campaign. Their Catholic and Protestant churches buildings, archives, etc.,
which were took off by the Communist regime are still in the states hands,
meanwhile the Romanian Orthodox church got back everything, furthermore even
properties of the upper called Hungarian Churches. In Romania the government
want to divide the Szekely counties of Harghita, Mures and Covasna with
Hungarian majority among Romanian majority counties making impossible for them
to decide for their peoples faith, to apply for EU funds, which is forbidden by
EU laws to change the national compositions of regtions in detriment of a national
minority. But the EU politicians, who are so concerned about the rights of the
Kurds in Turkey or the Tibetians of China, or the Roma or Jewish communities of
EU, never care about the harsh teratment of Hungarian minorities of Europe.
Why? Why are they making this distinction between Hungarians and non
Hungarians, not caring for the unjustice and attacks which occure every day
against this nationality of the EU? The leftist-liberal parties and so called
ecologists, attack a country unfairly, leaning on lies and half truths,
meanwile letting a minority of nearly 2 000 000 people to be attacked,
mistreated, aggressed, assimilated, saying that it is an internal affair of the
country that attacks them. Is EU hating the Hungarian nation? Are they not
enough humans to it? Is this a kind of racism or something, a kind of
Indo-European racism?
Stevan Harnad
“INDO-EUROPEAN RACISM…”
1. According to Hungarian polls, those who would vote for Fidesz *today* are just 25%, not the 53% that won the constitution-changing supermajority in 2010 (and even then, won it with no prior electoral mandate for — or even any prior announcement of the intention to — draft a new constitution).
2. Rather than accusing all who support the concerns and recommendations of the EU and the Venice Commission of being anti-Hungarian leftists or venal industrialists (an odd alliance!), with the sole motive of unseating the present ruling party in Hungary, might it not make sense to consider the actual substance of the EU’s and Venice Commision’s expressed concerns and recommendations?
3. Three of those substantive concerns are about whether there can even be fair elections in Hungary, now that the government has used its supermajority power to control the media, gerrymander electoral districts in its favor, and restrict advertising by opposition parties.
4. But there are plenty of other substantive points too, regarding constitutionality, checks and balances, human rights. (Nothing to do with Hungarian utility reductions or taxes on foreign banks.)
5. As noted, the EU will be applying the firthcoming democracy-protecting measures inspired by Hungary to all EU states and candidate states (hence also Slovakia and Rumania).
6. The less said about the latent Irredentist agenda in the posting of “Sylvain,” the better.
7. As to the real cause of the social unrest fomented during the prior government’s tenure, that is beyond the remit of the EU, but let’s say that there is a lot more to be said on that topic than the rather shrill and partisan spin put on it by “Sylvain.”
sylvain
1. Well, i do not know from when you take your informations mr. Steven, (Maybe from your mszp friends? Instead of comming to Hungary and see the facts?) but the last poll made by Századvég shows 49 % fidesz-kdnp, 24 % mszp, 13 % jobbik, 8 % együtt, 3 % lmp, 1 % dk, and 2 % others, sympathy. With the partition of the votes for those parties who will not enter in the parliament, being sub 5 %, fidesz will have more than 50 %. You can search for yourself.
2. Well you should read also the Hungarian parliaments response to the Tavares-report, before any other comments that it is right or not. You just believe everything it says, because it is said by them. Interestingly, when the Roma representative, Farkas Flórián went to Tavares, and discussed with him the accusations on the so called fascism of the Hungarian govern, Tavares acknowledged that he made a mistake. this is how credible can the Tavares-report be. If you make a report and than recognize that parts of it, of which you had been “enlightened” are not true, what can we say about the whole of the report?
3. This is not true. Why do not you learn a little hungarian and watch the television and read the media? And why did you were not concerned when before Fidesz took power, all the media was in the hands of the left-liberal parties? And why do not you watch Magyar-ATV, or read Népszabadság, stop.hu for example to see, how “oppressed” is leftist-liberal media which attacks so sordid, and with so ugly words and expressions the existing power, or inviting
politicians to speak about politics and about Fidesz, without inviting any Fidesz-member politician, having only Mszp or Együtt-politicians, who of course, together with the moderator, who should be “moderate” like its name says, attack in every way, and with every words the Fidesz-kdnp. If you watch for example Echo Tv or
Hír Tv, considered on the side of the power, you every time will see all parties invited when they speak about politics. In your leftist-liberal parties televisions or radios, you will see and hear only those who are liberals and socialists, attacking the power without letting them to defend theirselfs. It is very easy, mr. Stevan to preach here without being able to control what you are saying, just believing everything the EU bureaucrats or some newspapers say…
4. Of course not. But did you read what the American congressman Chris Smith wrote about Hungary? An American congressman: “Hungarian Fundamental Law is exemplary in guaranteeing civil and human rights”, ” reforms in Hungarian legislation respect values and rights just as well as any other European democracy does – in some cases to an even greater degree”. http://www.xpatloop.com/news/us_congressman_smith_new_hungarian_constitution_and_laws_are_amazing
5. It is interesting, when the representatives of the Hungarian minorities called on EU to check these things which I wrote about, they every time had the same answer: the minorities questions are internal affair of the state to do what it wants to its minorities. It was many times, but every time the same result, and it head almost 10 years to say something after these states entered EU, but it wasnt interested even before these states entered EU, when they were
monitorized, but never said to Romania or Slovakia anything about the Hungarian minority. This is why nothing happened, nothing changed ever since. Some USA congressmans had to intervene every time when Hungarians were mistreated, like Tom Lantos,
when hundreds of Hungarians of Serbia were beaten in a very organized way day by day in the streets, or against the case of Malina Hedvig, or about the Hungarian churches possessions to be given back by the Romanian state. Where was the EU? Why only Hungary concerns them? Meanwhile EU speak about human rights issues, that they have no proof, and criticize Hungary. So they have no right to intervene in favor of Hungarian minorities, but they have right to say which should be the pensioning age for bankers in Hungary? Interestingly other minorities, not Hungarians concern EU bureaucrats, even minorities that belong to Turkey or China, and many other states. So how can EU criticize other states when it has no interest on a minority which is abused in its own borders? How can it show morality when it not respects the moral of its own? This is hypocrisy. If China or Turkey would have more thinking, they would reply on EU’s criticism asking rights to Hungarians, or India for Romas.
6. Mr. Stevan, I do not know your nation, but if your nations parts, or any human being, or even animal, are maltrated somewhere, and you concern about their sufferings, that means that you are irredentist, and want to take the land? Maybe you are like this, having no hearth but only sordid interests to conquer. What can I say about you that you think like this? Are you so selfish, that the suffering of others does not move you? Maybe you are like this, but not everybody. Some people have also hearts… And of course, somebody from my nation suffer, maybe I will cry more, because it is from my nation, speaks my language, shares my culture. This is a human feeling mr. Stevan, without of having any selfish plan in it. This is what only some people can understand and not those who see people just some clients or people on which head to step in order to arise, who have no human feeling.
7. You are right, that is many to say, and nobody said that Fidesz is without any mistake, as your beloved European parties and bureaucrats have their own faults too, mr. “Stevan”. Lets see, being the slaves of some international firmas and banks, who are frightened to loose their influence over Hungary’s economy and politics.