The virus of disobedience is spreading

Brussels portal Politico states that "the European headache due to the rule of law is turning into a serious migraine - it seems that no one has a cure for it".

Source: Sputnik Tuesday, 31.08.2021. | 10:15

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Ilustracija: Depositphotos/ Vlakoh

The main culprits for this migraine, which has no cure, are Poland and Hungary, but the problem is much deeper, writes Sputnik.

The way Brussels will deal with disobedient Warsaw and defiant Budapest will leave lasting consequences for the EU itself, which could turn into a dungeon of people whose bars are made of the values of an open society - in case the operation to discipline the disobedient proves successful. While otherwise it is mostly threatened by a slight downfall into nonsense, it is stated further in the text of Sputnik.

The conflict with Poland arose because that country calls into question the legal order of the European Union because it refuses to apply the decisions of its Court of Justice, and with Hungary because it denies European LGBT+, i.e. its fundamental values. Both conflicts will have to be resolved in one way or another. But the conflicts are currently showing no signs of calming down. On the contrary.

Foto: EPA-EFE/Zsolt Szigetvary

Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro said: "I am a relentless opponent of giving in to the illegal blackmail of the European Union by its Court of Justice... The belief that the European Union is a good uncle who gives us money, and that we should accept all its demands regardless the cost, it is propaganda and a lie". He also mentioned that Poland should remain a member of the European Union, but "not at any cost".

How much that price can become will be seen after August 16, when the deadline set by the EU Court of Justice for Poland to implement its decision and abolish the Disciplinary Council of its Supreme Court expires. Earlier, the interim measures of the European Court in that case were already rejected by the Polish Constitutional Court as contrary to the constitution of that country, which is why the portal "Politico" stated that "the Polish authorities essentially declared that they do not accept the primacy of the European Union legal order."

At the same time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Budapest continues to provoke, this time through an interview with conservative American TV commentator Tucker Carlson, in which he said that "Western liberals cannot accept that there is a conservative national alternative within Western civilization that is more successful in everyday life than the liberal one".

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"The key word is standardization. The countries of the so-called old Europe are trying to impose their standards on everyone else in the European Union... And those who refuse, such as Poland and Hungary, will be subject to the Austrian recipe of discipline, or punishment, from 2000, when this country found itself under sanctions because the undesirable Jörg Haider and his Freedom Party of Austria entered the government", says Miroslav Jovanović, from the Institute for Global Studies in Geneva.

To be more convincing, efforts to subject Hungary and Poland to the liberal values ​​of an open society have been accompanied by threats that they will be denied money from European funds. However, those funds do not seem to be as generous, as it is most often presented from Brussels.

Namely, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary receives 4 billion euros a year from the budget from the EU, and that 50 percent more than that, 6 billion, "under various pretexts" will be taken by richer EU countries "led by Germany".

"Hungary's membership in the EU does not cost Germany a cent, they profit from us... Many Germans pretended to give money to the poor and are therefore in deficit. In fact, they benefit the most from the European single market. They give money from their own profits to other members through the EU budget, and a lot of things end up in their hands again. It is hypocritical to expect us to be grateful for that," Orbán said.

Associate of the Institute for Political Studies Dušan Dostanić says that it is very indicative and that whenever there are political and ideological disagreements, such as now about LGBT rights in Hungary, for example, they start talking about money and sanctions, so he wonders what domestic legislation in Hungary or Poland has to do with money and distribution of EU funds?

"There is no doubt that these are efforts to force these countries to do what this left-liberal elite wants. Therefore, it should be expected that this dividing line, no matter how the current crisis is resolved, will survive in the future and shape the European politics in the years ahead. Moreover, the future of Western Christian civilization depends on the outcome of this conflict", he concludes.