EP committee backs sanctions procedure against Hungary

In an early comment on the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties committee vote in favor of sanctioning Hungary, a pro-government pundit accuses EU liberals of burying their heads in the sand.

On Monday, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties committee (LIBE) endorsed the Sargentini report (see BudaPost June 25) and voted for the activation of Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty against Hungary on account of ‘a serious risk of a systematic violation of EU norms’. In hist first reaction, PM Orbán said that the EU wants to pressurize Hungary to take in migrants and added that the Sargentini report was prepared by ‘Soros’s people’.

Magyar Hírlap’s Dániel Kacsoh does not find it at all surprising that the Civil Liberties committee endorsed the Article 7 procedure against Hungary. The EU has criticized the Hungarian government for many years for alleged violations of basic norms, he asserts. All this, Kacsoh believes, is just a political stunt from liberal politicians and their allies in the Soros network. Kacsoh points out that even if the European Parliament votes in favor of the infringement procedure in September, it will be vetoed in the European Committee. Thus, there is no chance whatsoever for Hungary to be reprimanded. He suspects that the only purpose of the Sargentini report is to secure some publicity for the Orbán government’s liberal critics. Kacsoh finds it strange that liberals engage in such performances while their support is on the decline throughout the EU and when after the EP election next year, liberals may end up even weaker than today.

Tags: democracy, EU, European Parliament