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In an interview with SPIEGEL, Jourová accused the Hungarian head of government of building a “sick democracy” in Hungary. Von der Leyen was behind her assistant. Jourová enjoyed her “full confidence,” a spokeswoman said.
It is about more than just a statement or a personality. With his demand for resignation against Jourová, Orbán increases the bet in the bargaining for the development aid of Corona and the multi-year budget of the EU, a total of 1.8 billion euros.
Now what von der Leyen and Angela Merkel absolutely wanted to avoid has happened: everything mixes with everything. In reality, the head of the Commission and the Chancellor wanted to steer their Corona reconstruction package and the next multi-year EU budget as smoothly as possible through the European Parliament, without worrying about the rule of law.
Orbán has now foiled this strategy. For years he has disagreed with the Commission due to the erosion of democracy in his country. Together with his Polish allies, he threatens to block Corona’s aid if the rule of law mechanism is not clarified. Western and Northern European countries, such as Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands, in turn, only want to pass the budget if violators of the rule of law can cancel their money if necessary.
“We are not fooled or cheated”
The European Parliament also does not want to shake the budget without an effective rule of law mechanism. If the EU states believe that MEPs would approve everything anyway, “then the problem will tend to get worse,” says green budget politician Rasmus Andresen. “We are not fooled or cheated.”
A no from parliament to the budget would likely delay the crown accumulation program as well. It is true that the idea of adopting the 750 billion euro aid package separately and then unraveling the budget is circulating in parliament. That, in turn, is strictly rejected by the member states. At the summit in late July, after several days of negotiations, they agreed on the overall package. It is politically and technically a unit and cannot be separated under any circumstances, according to the federal government.
The Germans currently hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council, and it is up to them whether a deal can be reached. Time is of the essence: Budgetary funds should start flowing in early 2021, and Corona’s help should start as soon as possible as well.
But this timetable “is becoming increasingly slippery,” says a spokesman for the German presidency of the EU Council. The number of different blocks in budget negotiations is increasing rather than decreasing. “It is increasingly likely that the EU budget and the reconstruction fund will be delayed,” the spokesman said. Speed is essential, especially with the help of corona. “We cannot allow ourselves to come after the crisis is over.”
Orbán takes advantage of the difficult situation of the countries in crisis of the crown
Orbán knows, normally, he could hardly risk a delay in the EU budget, since his country depends more on money from Brussels than almost any other EU country. However, the corona virus has meant that some countries suddenly need money more urgently than it does. Orbán takes advantage of his plight as ice.
The attempt by the German ambassador to the EU, Michel Clauss, to persuade Hungary to accept the rule of law mechanism has so far failed. Late last week, German and Hungarian officials discussed the draft in detail, and in the end, Chancellor Merkel even called Orbán. But she said no, despite the fact that the Germans had diluted the mechanism even more than before. On the other hand, criticism from Orbán’s opponents is now acclaimed: the Federal Government’s proposal is too weak, according to the EU Parliament, as well as from Ireland, Belgium, Austria and the Scandinavian countries.
The issue of the rule of law could now even be discussed at the special EU summit on Thursday and Friday, although it is supposed to be about the relationship with Turkey and the sanctions against Belarus.
Orbán currently feels strong and lets his opponents feel it. Last Thursday he visited the head of the von der Leyen Commission (together with the heads of government of Poland and the Czech Republic), after which he rejected the new proposals on refugee policy that the commission has just presented, although they comply with all his core demands: no distribution quotas, tough border protection, rigorous deportations.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, Orbán indifferently defined himself as the last fighter in the resistance against the oppressive bureaucrats in Brussels. In doing so, he reinforces the suspicion of his critics that they are not interested in a solution to the refugee problem; otherwise, you would lose your favorite domestic political problem.
Von der Leyen must view Orbán’s behavior with discomfort. He began his work with a promise to bridge the gap between East and West in the EU. It is true that the infringement procedures continue as do the discussions on the rule of law in the Council of Member States. But the harsh tones against Orbán and company are almost impossible to hear from von der Leyen, unlike his deputy Jourová.
Does the TÜV rule of law work?
If von der Leyen expected Orbán to appreciate it, his attack on Jourová now proves otherwise. Orbán is not only demanding the resignation of Jourová, but has also announced that “he will suspend all bilateral political contacts with her,” as stated in an open letter from the Hungarian to the Commission. This causes outrage in the European Parliament. The fact that Orbán wants to tell the EU commissioners what to say is “unacceptable,” said Green MP Sergey Lagodinsky.
Von der Leyen announced that the Commission’s position on the rule of law had long been clear. There are “different ways of expressing them.” Already on Wednesday, the Commission has another option to do this. Then you want to report on the state of the rule of law in all EU countries.
Clear words are not lacking in the report. “In some Member States the leadership gives rise to serious concerns about their judicial reforms,” it says in a draft with a view to Hungary and Poland. She continued: “In Hungary, prosecution for corruption is very limited and there appears to be a persistent unwillingness to initiate criminal investigations when serious allegations are made against high-ranking officials or their close circle.”
However, this constitutional TÜV is unlikely to impress someone like Orbán.
