In a scathing resolution, Members of the European Parliament threatened to launch legal action against the European Commission if the executive releases further frozen funds to Hungary. #EuropeNews
If Hungary would be thrown out of the EU, it’d become a Russian puppet state like Belarus. This would mean Russian military equipment being stationed right in the middle of the EU.
As someone living in Austria, that’s especially worrysome, since that’d mean no buffer zone to Russia and not even protection by NATO. My parents live 10 minutes away from the Hungarian border by foot.
The problem is that since Hungary knows that it won’t be thrown out, how can the EU bargain? They’ve tried withholding funding, but every time there needs to be an unanimous decision, Hungary demands funds to be released in exchange.
AFAIK, unanimity is required for the most important decisions. The provision here is: suspend voting privileges for offending country and then vote… tadaa… unanimous.
This is difficult and not taken lightly but it is possible. How this has not happened to Hungary is beyond me. But then Poland under the PiS party also was sanctioned for their meddling with the judges.
If Hungary would be thrown out of the EU, it’d become a Russian puppet state like Belarus. This would mean Russian military equipment being stationed right in the middle of the EU.
As someone living in Austria, that’s especially worrysome, since that’d mean no buffer zone to Russia and not even protection by NATO. My parents live 10 minutes away from the Hungarian border by foot.
Good thing I neither typed nor intended to type anything like that.
The problem is that since Hungary knows that it won’t be thrown out, how can the EU bargain? They’ve tried withholding funding, but every time there needs to be an unanimous decision, Hungary demands funds to be released in exchange.
There are provisions that allow majority decisions to be made. Not everything is decided unanimously.
AFAIK, unanimity is required for the most important decisions. The provision here is: suspend voting privileges for offending country and then vote… tadaa… unanimous.
This is difficult and not taken lightly but it is possible. How this has not happened to Hungary is beyond me. But then Poland under the PiS party also was sanctioned for their meddling with the judges.