Thu Dec 8, 2022 – 3:12 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) – The European Commission voted last week to freeze 11.5 billion euros in aid to Hungary. This latest development in the EU’s struggle with the central European nation falls short of the expected invocation of Article Seven, a mechanism invented to allow member states whose policies disagree with the values of the EU to be sanctioned and deprived of their voting rights, against Viktor Orban’s government.
The EU maintains that there are issues with the rule of law in Hungary which must be addressed, objections which arose following long standing criticism of the pro-family and anti-illegal migration polices pursued by Fidesz, Hungary’s ruling party.
To resolve the deadlock, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has agreed to implement a list of 17 reforms designed to assuage the concerns of the EU. In a revealing interview given in Berlin, Orban gave a frank appraisal of the real dimension of this disagreement, which demonstrates how and why it has resulted in near deadlock. His perceptions foreshadow both the standoff with the EU as well as its causes and consequences.
It is not about reforms, he says, “it’s blackmail, pure and simple.”
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