Confrontation over the rule of law seen as difficult to resolve

A pro-government analyst fears that through the rule of law procedures, Brussels might try to force Hungarians to give up their way of life. A left-wing commentator finds it hard for either side to back down.

Prime Minister Orbán has said he fears that what the rule of law means in Brussels, is that countries should let illegal migrants in. He released his statement to explain his government’s announcement that it will veto the EU coronavirus recovery scheme and the next seven-year budget unless the Union withdraws the resolution of the rule of law conditionality of EU payments to member countries (see BudaPost, November 18).

On Origo, writer Szilárd Demeter, director of the Petőfi Literary Museum believes that under the guise of rule of law regulations, the European Union ‘wants to tell us what we should think’. The exact criteria by which the Union intends to measure rule of law compliance are unclear, he writes, adding that new concepts are being included among them such as the so-called LBTQ-rights. Countries might also be compelled to admit uncontrolled masses of migrants in a future move, he fears. That may bring us to the end of the rule of law, Demeter predicts, as LBTQ rights would be trampled underfoot by migrants, not to mention the danger they might represent for the Jewish community.

On 24.hu, Zsolt Kerner accepts the Fidesz interpretation that the new rule of law regulation is an attack on its system of government. However, he finds that attack justified, since the current system of government in Hungary, in his view, is founded on ignoring or at least relativizing the rule of law. Kerner suggests that the Hungarian Prime Minister has chosen a collision course with the Union in the hope that this is the best way to win concessions. This time, however, the mood in Brussels is unusually somber, he suspects, and if the Hungarian government has its way, the budget will probably be vetoed by the European Parliament.

Tags: EU, Orbán, rule of law