European Left accused of threatening EU unity

Pro-government columnists, pondering the implications of the EU infringement procedure against Hungary, accuse the EU leadership of violating basic democratic norms as well as of threatening the unity of the European Union.

In Magyar Hírlap, Attila Szalai likens the activation of Article 7 against Hungary to the imperial rulings of the Roman Empire. The pro-government commentator attributes the wish to punish Hungary to Europe’s desperate need for cheap labor and by implication the pro-immigration stance of the European mainstream. The EU, he argues, wants to punish the Hungarian government which, in accordance with the explicit will of the Hungarian people, wants to defend its own border (and those of Europe) and maintain its constitutional identity and Christian culture. Szalai compares this external ideological pressure to the common practice in the former Soviet empire. Unless parties that want to defend national sovereignty win at the 2019 European Parliamentary election, the EU will be destroyed by the Left, he fears.

Magyar Idők’s Ferenc Kis thinks that the EU is becoming a ‘liberal dictatorship’. The pro-government columnist accuses liberal elites of trying to impose their pro-migration ideology on the people of Europe. This, Kis believes, amounts to dictatorial rule. In a real democracy, ‘majorities have the right to define the norms and values that determine all aspects of life’, and by activating Article 7, the leaders of the EU have expressed disrespect towards the will of the Hungarian people, Kis believes.

Tags: Article 7, EU, Europe, liberalism