Reflections on the EU-Hungary tug of war

A conservative commentator ponders the debate on the Tavares report in the European Parliament and believes that the Hungarian government should show more restraint in its use of the two thirds majority.

The debate and the subsequent resolution on the Tavares report by the European Parliament (see BudaPost July 4) had little substance. It gave an opportunity for leftwing, liberal and green critics of the Hungarian government to claim that democratic standards have been violated, while Fidesz could point out that national interest and sovereignty have become unimportant for the eurocracy, Dávid Lakner writes in Mandiner.

Despite the apparently futile nature of the debate, Fidesz should learn some of lessons from it, the conservative commentator suggests. The fact that PM Orbán took part in the debate confirms that he plays by EU rules. The Orbán government has successfully defended some of the contested laws, and European People’s Party Vice-President Manfred Weber also criticized the EU for applying double standards against Budapest, Lakner recalls. But as Frank Engel EPP MEP remarked in the debate, Fidesz should show more restraint in using its two-thirds majority in Parliament. “Self-restraint, self-correction and moderate use of power is the recipe of good governance,” Lakner concludes.

Tags: democracy, EU, European Parliament, Fidesz, sanctions