Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Rule of law and democracy must be respected

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

In this article, the Hungarian politician formulates his opinion on the current situation of the European Union and the relationship of its Member States with close attention to Hungary and Poland and the rule of law mechanisms.

The European Union is often and rightfully criticised for being unable to get close to its citizens. Furthermore, the values that our community identifies with often seem rather abstract. As far as the institutions are concerned, such public sentiments should hardly be a surprise since the EU’s system is often based on overcomplicated and delicate balances between the institutions and the Member States. When it comes to values, however, it’s harder to be quite so forgiving since no community can remain functional if its members are not connected by some ideological binding force that would guide them in the same direction.

Of course, I did not become a politician to just lie idly by when I see processes and situations I am dissatisfied with.

On the contrary: I believe we must take action if we are to make any progress.

My view on the European Union’s situation is quite similar, too. There’s no way for such a large organisation to change overnight, but we must constantly strive for improving on it each day, even if the successes rather seem like half-measures at first. This week’s EP plenary session clearly proved it was up to us how much use we make of them.

When the EU’s seven-year budget and the economic recovery plan were passed last fall, many people were bitterly disappointed that the EU could only achieve no more than a half-success in terms of the rule of law mechanisms. As we all remember, Hungary and Poland, for political reasons, kept blocking the EU budget and the recovery plan for months. Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, who had made corruption an essential part of his regime’s functionality and had been using the EU funds to build his own clientèle of oligarchs, was afraid that if EU funds were coupled with some closer monitoring in the upcoming period, he might be running out of funding before the spring of 2022, i.e., the next Hungarian parliamentary elections. He needs these funds to finance his “feudal” system, whereby he uses local oligarchs, “businessmen”, and corrupt officials to make sure that the necessary number of votes are delivered.