Since Wednesday, he has in his hand a legally legalized instrument to fight corruption. The Court of Justice found all points of the so-called rule of law mechanism. The complaints of Poland and Hungary failed all along the line, writes Ralf Neukirch, adding that this is “good news” for the entire EU.
The author of Spiegel cites the opinion of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, who believes that the EC should now, after eliminating the obstacles, finally institute proceedings against violating countries.
Von der Leyen “playing for time”
Instead of taking action quickly, the head of the European Commission von der Leyen is playing against time, writes the commentator. As he points out, for many months you could hear that the European Commission wants to wait for the sentence before it implements the rule of law procedure. Now von der Leyen has stated that the ruling must first be “scrutinized”. In addition, a directive is to be created that will clarify how this mechanism is to be applied in practice.
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“The head of the European Commission was unable to explain what still needs to be examined, although the ordinance (on the rule of law) was considered lawful as a whole. She also did not answer the question why the new directives are needed” – emphasizes Neukirch.
“The last excuse has lost its raison d’être,” quotes “Der Spiegel” of Green MEP Daniel Freund. “You must act quickly now,” the MEP reminded her.
The difficult situation of the head of the European Commission
According to Neukirch, von der Leyen’s situation is not easy. As he points out, a number of arguments speak for delay.
He explains that the CJEU judgment was announced at a time when Europeans are trying to maintain a common position towards Russia. “Is it wise to implement proceedings against Poles right now, while at the same time being assured that their partners fully support them?” – asks the author.
“The rule of law and the Ukrainian crisis have nothing to do with each other – in terms of content – but there is a relationship from a political point of view,” emphasizes the journalist “Spiegel”.
Scholz imitates Merkel in her policy towards Poland
This explains, according to Neukirch, the reserved position of the German government. In the coalition agreement, the parties forming the government announced a fight for the rule of law in the EU. In practice, Chancellor Olaf Scholz follows the line followed by his predecessor, Angela Merkel.
Neukirch reminds that in April there will be elections in Hungary. “There is a dispute as to whether the procedure implemented by the EU will help or rather harm Orban. The principle adopted by the Commission that it should not be supplied with ammunition for the election campaign is absolutely legitimate,” reads “Spiegl”.
Brussels will not solve the problem of authoritarianism
“it has not been idle in recent months,” writes Neukirch. It suspended payments from the Reconstruction Fund for Hungary and Poland, which is painful for both countries
An important signal is also the financial penalties imposed on Poland on the basis of the judgments of the CJEU. According to the commentator, the delay of several weeks does not matter much. It is more important not to give the governments in Warsaw and Budapest any arguments for the thesis that the pro-Western EU wants to impose its values on Eastern Europeans through excessive haste or inappropriate rhetoric.
“Tough ideologues” from Warsaw
“Orban is an opportunist who is concerned with power. He is sensitive to financial pressure,” writes Neukirch. In the Polish government, on the other hand, there are “tough ideologists” and the implementation of the procedure could only strengthen their opposition, the author believes.
Neukirch points out that a hard confrontation could harm the EU itself. Polish and Hungarian diplomats have signaled in recent weeks that they would be ready to block EU decisions where unanimity is required. There is nothing other countries can do about it.
“The problem of the growing authoritarianism cannot be solved by the rule of law alone anyway. The citizens of these countries have to do it”, writes Neukirch in the online edition of “Spiegel”.
Source: Gazeta
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
