Could Brussels’ Threats to Hungary End EU as We Know It?

Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

The rift between Brussels and Budapest is getting wider by the day as Viktor Orban’s Hungary is running out of patience for the European Union’s suicidal policies. After years of wrangling and threats from Brussels that it will trigger the much-touted “rule of law” mechanism against the Central European country, it seems the EU is moving towards action, as it cannot allow Hungary to become a precedent that would serve as a “non-compliance” inspiration for other members to follow.

Budapest’s refusal to completely cut ties with Russia seems to be escalating the standoff. As a result, the EU has threatened to freeze approximately €7.5 billion in funds earmarked for Hungary. The unelected bureaucrats from Brussels are using “persisting corruption and fraud” as a pretext for the controversial move.

Hungary under Viktor Orban is often seen as a “rogue state” and the main obstacle to the EU’s futile attempts of isolating Russia. Budapest has been persistent in its demands for exemptions from anti-Russian energy sanctions. As a result, it accomplished retaining relatively cheap energy prices at a time when the rest of the EU is going through economic and financial unraveling thanks to Brussels’ suicidal sanctions war. With what’s sure to be a harsh winter coming in mere months, there is growing conviction among many EU members that the sanctions on Russia have not only failed to produce desired results, but have actually backfired miserably and are ravaging their economies.

In a recent report, Bloomberg described the dilemma as follows: “But while most member states have been engaged in a desperate scramble to secure alternative gas supplies ahead of the winter, Orban has deepened his country’s ties to the Kremlin, exploiting the exemptions he demanded from EU sanctions to secure increased imports of gas from Russia.”

Although Western state and corporate-run mainstream media have been consistent in accusing Hungary of conducting supposedly “pro-Russian policies”, the fact of the matter is that Budapest is simply championing what can only be described as realpolitik. Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade has consistently been stating that the issue of energy security requires “a pragmatic approach and common sense instead of philosophical and ideological debates.”

“Energy security is the most critical issue on the international political stage today, but the topic is now absolutely over-politicized and being turned into an ideological question. The security of energy supply should be a matter of physics and mathematics that concerns resources, supply routes and the calculation of energy needs,” Szijjártó stated during the 27th Baku Energy Forum back in early June.

Some Western media are even blaming Poland and claiming it “has remained a powerful impediment thus far to Brussels triggering any significant rule of law penalties,” despite Warsaw almost always being at the forefront of the bloc’s anti-Russian policies.

“During years of frustration at the Hungarian government, Orban has been shielded from the EU’s main disciplinary machinery, known as the Article 7 procedure, by the support of the nationalist government in Warsaw — because that mechanism too requires the endorsement of all the other members,” Bloomberg report claims. “The war in Ukraine has soured Orban’s relationship with the Polish government, which has been among the most ardent supporters of firm action against Putin, but for now the Poles are standing by Orban,” it concludes.

The report clearly ignores the centuries of close Polish-Hungarian ties, as well as the fact that both countries are determined to fight back in the Brussels’ war on traditional values and imposition of suicidal neoliberal policies which have effectively been deconstructing entire European societies and bringing about the dictatorship of the bureaucratic post-Christian EU. Although there is clearly a vast divergence in rhetoric on Russia between Budapest and Warsaw, it seems that both Central European countries see their cooperation in this sense as a more pressing concern.

On Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated the following: “Poland will strongly oppose any action of European institutions that intend to unduly deprive any member states of funds, in this case, Hungary.”

Orban has also been under fire for his comments that it was the political West’s fault that the Ukrainian conflict has spiraled out of control, that the sanctions against Russia were suicidal and would ultimately result in a boomerang effect which would only hurt the EU citizens and result in European economies effectively shooting themselves in the foot.

Hungary has also been under attack by the European Parliament (EP), which recently approved a resolution stating that the country is “no longer a full democracy.” The nonbinding vote from last week claimed that Budapest supposedly “failed to uphold respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”

Fidesz, Hungary’s ruling party, stated in response: “It is unforgivable that, while people are suffering from the severe economic effects of wartime inflation and misguided sanctions, the European Parliament is attacking Hungary again.”

Given the troubles Hungary is going through for simply wanting to maintain its sovereignty, the question arises – what can other current or prospective EU members expect? Why is the will of the unelected bureaucrats in Brussels prioritized over the will of the citizens of each member state and their democratically elected officials? How does Brussels plan to impose its suicidal policies given that there’s a mass political unraveling across the bloc resulting from anti-Russian policies?

Source: InfoBrics