A left-wing pundit approves EU sanctions on Hungary

The editor of the left-wing nationwide print daily writes that warnings by the European Union are simply ignored by the government, unless they are accompanied by sanctions.

In Népszava, Péter Németh disagrees with those opposition politicians who criticise the financial sanctions imposed on Hungary by the European Commission over rule-of-law considerations, and call on the European Union to find alternative ways to rein in Hungary’s government without inflicting burdens on Hungarian citizens. There are no other ways, unfortunately, Németh retorts, as steps which stop short of sanctions have proven no more than wasted words in the past. He agrees with the EU’s intention to encourage Hungarian voters to live in a liberal democracy, but admits that sanctions too have remained ineffective thus far. ’We have to resign ourselves to the fact that this will be a long term project,’ he concludes.

Tags: European Commission, rule of law, sanctions