Hungarian Conservative

The European Union’s migration and asylum policy is an area that is the focus of major political debates on a daily basis…This is particularly the case when national authorities seek guidance in individual cases from the ECJ, which has the binding power to fundamentally determine or change legislative practice—often leading to new political debates or new layers of political debate.

It appears that the European Commission and the European Court of Justice work hand in hand to move the union in the direction of a federal state. In fact, rarely does the Court rule in favour of a member state when the Commission initiates a lawsuit against it in connection with the exercise of powers affecting national sovereignty.

The two major European countries are the 14th and 15th to officially get behind the EU Court proceedings against Hungary for its 2021 law restricting the teaching of gender theory in schools.

The new law just passed by the National Assembly provides additional protections to whistleblowers; as well as ascribes duties to create confidential abuse report systems to private companies of a certain size and institutions in the public sector.

The payment of EU funds allocated to Hungary in the 2021–2027 budget cycle was suspended in December 2022. The suspension, however, does not mean a loss of resources. In other words, the path is clear for Hungary: defying the political headwind, it can set a model for the EU as a whole, as to how its financial interests can be protected by means of the rule of law.

‘The European Commission is getting more political than its predecessors. In my view, this is unfortunate, given that this body is meant to be independent—the “Guardian of the Treaties”.’