Press: Brussels says ‘enough’ to Hungary. Budapest and Warsaw with the opinion of traitors

“It is not yet known who will decide in his favor the power struggle – the European Commission or Viktor Orban. Brussels wants to stop the payment of subsidies of several billion euros to Hungary, because the man in Budapest behaves more like a nepotistic autocrat than the head of the government of a country belonging to of the European Union,” writes Hubert Wetzel in a commentary published on Friday evening (November 25, 2022) on the “Sueddeutsche Zeitung” portal.

It will be up to the governments of the EU countries to decide whether Orban will be deprived of money. “Who is the winner of this confrontation, we will probably find out in a few weeks” – the commentator notes.

Already now – continues Hubert Wetzel – it can be said that the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, has finally found the courage to show Orbán when “enough is enough”. The Hungarian prime minister has for years treated the EU as a “nuisance bank employee” who is supposed to give him money but cannot tell him how he spends it.

The authorities of Poland and Hungary harm their own countries

The EU is even more concerned that Orban in his country attacks and dismantles everything that makes up a modern democracy – the rule of law, an independent judiciary, free media, political competitors – the author enumerates. “The EC does not have many possibilities to change it, but it does not have to support Orban’s actions with billions (euros) from EU funds” – emphasizes the commentator.

If Hungary finds enough allies to block the decision to cut funding, those countries will be complicit in Orban’s “twisting.”

“If the horizons of the politicians ruling in Budapest and Warsaw were less flat and limited, if they thought in a more strategic way, they might notice how much they harm their own countries,” writes the “SZ” journalist.

“This applies even more to Poland than to Hungary. Poland has the sixth largest economy in the EU, it could play the role of a regional leader in the east of the EU” – explains Hubert Wetzel.

Budapest and Warsaw with the opinion of traitors and blackmailers

“However, the misguided grumpy provincial hostility to the EU, by which the Polish and Hungarian governments win elections at home, robs them of influence in Brussels,” emphasizes the commentator. Both countries can only block, but they do not have the strength to shape the Union, because they have a reputation as “traitors” and “blackmailers”.

“Pro-European Balts are boxing in Brussels above their weight category. Anti-European Poles are boxing well below their weight category, not to mention Hungarians. This is a very short-sighted policy for a country in whose interest it is that the EU remains tough on Russia and supports Ukraine” – commented the journalist “SZ”.

“The biggest lesson from the dispute between Brussels and Budapest is perhaps the experience that there are also business models in politics that work well as long as the bank gives credit. Wetzel.