December 13, 2022 - 3:15pm
Late on Monday night, an agreement was reached in the EU’s long-running “rule of law” tussle with Hungary. Brussels’s plan to financially punish the miscreant member state will become reality but, in classic EU style, a compromise allows both sides to claim victory. Viktor Orbán has allowed himself to be bought off, having created significant political problems for the Union in recent weeks.
The EU will approve Hungary’s pandemic recovery fund worth €5.8 billion and reduce the proportion of regular funding programmes to be withheld from Budapest, from 65% to 55%. In return, Hungary has relented in its controversial opposition to EU implementation of a global minimum corporation tax and loans for Ukraine.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and it was always likely that this saga of mutual blackmail would end in a compromise. Total victory for either side would have been disastrous: a more complete funding block would have alienated Hungary and paralysed the EU for good, while failure to punish Orbán would have left the European Commission’s reputation in tatters.
Orbán’s hawkish opponents think Hungary shouldn’t get any EU funding at all, but Budapest turned the dispute on its head by displaying a willingness to torpedo the EU’s political agenda. Orbán can now portray the reduced funding cuts as a hard-won victory; Hungarian sources claim he has also secured a form of participation in the new global minimum corporation tax which won’t entail raising low domestic tax rates.
The strongman sorely needed a victory with the Hungarian economy teetering close to calamity. Inflation is at 22.5% and the governor of the national bank last week fired a remarkable broadside at the government’s economic policy.
The government portrays EU sanctions on Russia as solely responsible for the current difficulties, but uncertainty over EU funding has been another major negative factor. The Hungarian Forint exchange strengthened significantly on Tuesday morning – and in typical Orbán style, a 15% increase in pensions was announced hot on the heels of the agreement in Brussels.
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SubscribeWhich democracy? When I last looked Hungary democratically elected Orban but the rest of the EU shower are all appointees
Nothing democratic about the EU except the fig leaf of a parliament with no power and bunch of ***s with their snouts so far in the trough they can’t see daylight.
That’s the kicker. The EU is run by a bunch of unelected grifters who are accountable to no one. Yet they set the standards in countries with free and fair elections.
I think the EU is democratic, the issue i have is that they made the UK take in any migrant from most of Europe who wanted to come here, Albania is also a candidate to join the EU as well….
I think the EU is democratic, the issue i have is that they made the UK take in any migrant from most of Europe who wanted to come here, Albania is also a candidate to join the EU as well….
That’s the kicker. The EU is run by a bunch of unelected grifters who are accountable to no one. Yet they set the standards in countries with free and fair elections.
Which democracy? When I last looked Hungary democratically elected Orban but the rest of the EU shower are all appointees
Nothing democratic about the EU except the fig leaf of a parliament with no power and bunch of ***s with their snouts so far in the trough they can’t see daylight.
The EU is truly truly awful. Germany will buy natural gas from any authoritarian dictator willing to sell it – govts with truly horrific human rights records – but heaven forbid Hungary and Poland step out of line.
The EU is truly truly awful. Germany will buy natural gas from any authoritarian dictator willing to sell it – govts with truly horrific human rights records – but heaven forbid Hungary and Poland step out of line.
I keep saying it: liberal democracy is an oxymoron. These two ideas are in conflict and one will always win out over the other. Our professional managerial class across the Western world has demonstrated they are willing to jettison democracy and pursue secular liberalism by authoritarian means.
Hungary is unquestionably democratic. And when the people of Hungary choose to do something not in accordance with secular liberalism, the EU shows its authoritarian colors.
The doctrine of “maximal individual autonomy” at the heart of liberalism is going to implode. Like “liberal democracy”, it’s a built in contradiction and is constructed on a philosophically false view of man.
Don’t call the technocratic elite liberal, they are far from it. Woke fascists is closer to the truth.
These technocrats and bureaucrats are not even close to liberal. They’ve twisted liberalism into a pretzel. They are authoritarian m, pure and simple.
How dare Hungary have its own opinion! The cheek. My LGB etc colleagues all have a love us or perish attitude. Differing opinions are not permitted. Democracy is a farce.
The extreme left controls the beaurocracy, our education system, and the mainstream media. As long as we continue to eat, drink, and stream, our heads are down and we are good little citizens.
I call them “liberals” for several reasons: 1) because it is the label their side has traditionally been known as; 2) it is a neutral descriptor which doesn’t make the uninformed tune out; 3) their philosophy is the logical endpoint of John Stuart Mill’s liberalism. It’s Mill who proposes a world of maximal individual autonomy — “my rights only stop at your nose”.
I understand the desire for new labels to make people sound as evil as they are. But it’s counterproductive.
Don’t call the technocratic elite liberal, they are far from it. Woke fascists is closer to the truth.
These technocrats and bureaucrats are not even close to liberal. They’ve twisted liberalism into a pretzel. They are authoritarian m, pure and simple.
How dare Hungary have its own opinion! The cheek. My LGB etc colleagues all have a love us or perish attitude. Differing opinions are not permitted. Democracy is a farce.
The extreme left controls the beaurocracy, our education system, and the mainstream media. As long as we continue to eat, drink, and stream, our heads are down and we are good little citizens.
I call them “liberals” for several reasons: 1) because it is the label their side has traditionally been known as; 2) it is a neutral descriptor which doesn’t make the uninformed tune out; 3) their philosophy is the logical endpoint of John Stuart Mill’s liberalism. It’s Mill who proposes a world of maximal individual autonomy — “my rights only stop at your nose”.
I understand the desire for new labels to make people sound as evil as they are. But it’s counterproductive.
I keep saying it: liberal democracy is an oxymoron. These two ideas are in conflict and one will always win out over the other. Our professional managerial class across the Western world has demonstrated they are willing to jettison democracy and pursue secular liberalism by authoritarian means.
Hungary is unquestionably democratic. And when the people of Hungary choose to do something not in accordance with secular liberalism, the EU shows its authoritarian colors.
The doctrine of “maximal individual autonomy” at the heart of liberalism is going to implode. Like “liberal democracy”, it’s a built in contradiction and is constructed on a philosophically false view of man.
Unelected bureaucrats take measures against democratically-elected politicians in the name of safeguarding democracy. Incredible.
Unelected bureaucrats take measures against democratically-elected politicians in the name of safeguarding democracy. Incredible.
Strange not to mention that the need to deflect attention away from last week’s EU corruption scandal probably forced the Commission to announce an agreement – before Orbán started ridiculing them again.
Strange not to mention that the need to deflect attention away from last week’s EU corruption scandal probably forced the Commission to announce an agreement – before Orbán started ridiculing them again.
I recently visited Hungary and I felt the place was a pleasant, reasonable, civilised and calm, with a welcoming attitude to tourist cash and huge amount of civil spoken English. Try that out in Paris.
While we were there a large public protest was held, calmly and good naturedly by a broad swathe of people with minimal police presence. Not exactly a police state or a hostile to democracy oligarchy the way the EU would like to have us believe.
The article writer almost certainly has his own little personal axe to grind in his overt and clear anti Orban / Hungary position piece.
The EU hates Orban solely and only because of his anti – LGBT alphabet stance.
I would say that 90% of all of the angst and conflict with Hungary is centred on the gay power movement in the EU.
I recently visited Hungary and I felt the place was a pleasant, reasonable, civilised and calm, with a welcoming attitude to tourist cash and huge amount of civil spoken English. Try that out in Paris.
While we were there a large public protest was held, calmly and good naturedly by a broad swathe of people with minimal police presence. Not exactly a police state or a hostile to democracy oligarchy the way the EU would like to have us believe.
The article writer almost certainly has his own little personal axe to grind in his overt and clear anti Orban / Hungary position piece.
The EU hates Orban solely and only because of his anti – LGBT alphabet stance.
I would say that 90% of all of the angst and conflict with Hungary is centred on the gay power movement in the EU.
Solid support for democracy, well democracy we agree with anyway, from the EU.
(Oh, and I am not a fan of Orbin by the way)
Solid support for democracy, well democracy we agree with anyway, from the EU.
(Oh, and I am not a fan of Orbin by the way)