Hungary for the Truth

Why is the EU out to get Hungary and Poland?

25th September 2018 Jonathon Davies Authoritarianism, Ethics, European Union, Philosophy, Politics 0

Jonathon Davies, Going Postal

“Oh my God the Nazis are back again. This time in Hungary.” Or so we are told by the EU and its sycophantic supporters, who believe it is a haven of civil liberties, a bastion of democracy, a beacon of law and order in an otherwise corrupt world, the truth, the way and the light, etc, etc, you get the idea. Yet scratch beneath the surface and quite a different picture is revealed.

We recently saw the State of the European Union address (and it certainly is a state, and in a state) from the unelected Emperor Juncker. At one point he said that EU court judgements must be carried out. This was a clear pointer towards Hungary, which has recently run afoul of the EU. Shortly after the speech the EU Parliament was set to vote on whether to censure Hungary using Article 7 to remove Hungary’s voting rights. They duly voted to enforce it.

What does Hungary stand accused of? Well, I’ve had a devil of a job finding out. Such things are cited as “breaching our shared EU values,” along with “stereotypical views of women.” Much of the trouble seems to surround Viktor Orban, Hungary’s so-called “populist” leader. He stands accused of restricting the press and threatening the independence of the judiciary. There is also an accusation of “antisemitism” as he has attacked the billionaire George Soros. Doesn’t sound good, does it? But is there an ulterior motive behind the EU action?

Both Hungary and Poland are under threat of Article 7. Poland is also accused of tampering with the judiciary and being “far-right” along with Orban. Both have refused to take in migrants. In particular they have refused Muslim migrants from the Middle East and North Africa. They cited concerns over terrorism and having their culture changed. Orban has openly stated he wants to build a Christian democracy. These attitudes reject multiculturalism and go against the most important core pillars of EU ideology. These are free movement, both from inside and outside the EU, and that diversity is our strength. As we have seen the EU loves to take in migrants. In 2015 alone an estimated 1.82 million non-EU nationals arrived. Even before then hundreds of thousands were arriving every year. NGO organisations helped migrants across the Mediterranean. Others arrived overland via the Balkans.

Europe is still feeling the social, economic and political effects. Terror attacks occur regularly. Most are blamed on “mental illness.” In countries like Sweden, migrants now make up the bulk of those claiming benefits from the state. It is therefore not a surprise that native populations are voting against it, and that countries that haven’t experienced the joys of enrichment don’t want to start. So-called “populist” governments and parties, i.e. those who actually listen, are on the rise as a result. Is this the real reason Hungary and Poland have been singled out for punishment, because they won’t take migrants and refuse multiculturalism? Is the “antisemitism” allegation actually because Orban has banned George Soros, who funds NGOs promoting globalism and migration, such as the Open Society?

To determine this, we need to take a look at some other EU member states where there are issues. Let’s start with Malta, which is accused of being a hub for corruption, money laundering and selling passports. Joseph Muscat, the hard-left Prime Minister, pledged millions of government funds to a cancer charity. Sounds great? But where did the money come from? According to some opposition MPs some of it may have come from Malta’s Individual Investors Programme. This sells passports to foreigners for €650,000 plus other investments in property and government bonds. Some MPs claimed it was a way to launder dirty money, and that some using the programme were criminal and corrupt. It certainly appears as though it could be open to abuse. Certainly many investors are Chinese, and whisper it quietly a fair few are Russian. There are concerns that this has allowed dirty money from outside the EU to enter via Malta.

Not looking great so far. But there is more. Some of you may remember the story of a journalist being killed by a car bomb last year. This was Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist and blogger who ran stories exposing corruption. You may also remember the so-called Panama Papers, which were leaked documents detailing offshore investments, some legitimate and some not. Galizia was investigating Maltese links within the papers when she was killed. Her most recent investigations were seemingly aimed at two aides of Joseph Muscat (nothing has been proved against them). To date her killers have not been found. And what is the EU response to all this? They are sending some MEPs to “check the situation on the ground.” That’s it. This is in stark contrast to the punishment meted out to Orban.

Another country that has issues is Romania. Romania elected the hard-left Grindeanu government, who were sworn in during January 2017. Just days later they were proposing bills on the pardoning and amnesty of some crimes and altering the penal code of Romania. The intention of these laws was to in effect decriminalise certain types of corruption, and the High Court in Romania issued an opinion to this effect. Huge protests began that month, meanwhile the government passed the bills on the 31st January 2017. Protest continued on a large scale in February as the government refused to rescind the legislation. There were almost daily protests, but on a smaller scale. In August 2018 a fresh wave of large-scale protests kicked off. Thousands of Romanians who were working abroad returned to the country to take part. Now, I’m sure you all saw the masses of coverage about this on the UK mainstream media, right?

The main opposition party criticised the heavy handed police response and there were accusations of unnecessary violence. Meanwhile, the Austrian leader, who holds the EU rotating Presidency, “strongly condemned” the violence. Well, I’m sure that told them. The protesters numbered at least 50,000 and police used tear gas and water cannons. You know, the ones Boris Johnson was condemned for wanting when he was Mayor of London. At least 450 people were injured. There are also reports from Romania alleging that there are concerns over security services having links with anti-corruption officials. Prison conditions are also poor, with over 104 human rights violations listed by the UN. The EU response to all this? The Commission is “closely following the events in Romania.”

Bulgaria also has problems. It regularly ranks as one of the most corrupt countries in the EU. A corruption report accuses Bulgaria, saying:

“A lack of autonomy and transparency in the judicial system has weakened corruption investigations and property rights, encouraged public official impunity, and has created an uncertain investment environment. Kickbacks and bribes plague the public procurement sector, eradicating fair market competition and resulting in fewer opportunities for foreign investors. Companies face demands for facilitation payments and bribery when registering businesses or accessing public utilities.”

There are also accusations of not tackling foreign bribery, with little or no enforcement. But it gets better.

Just this month two journalists who were investigating a potential fraud using EU money were arrested. That’s right, journalists trying to uncover possible corruption were arrested. Their names are Dimitar Stoyanov and Attila Biro. According to them they had alerted police to shredding and burning of documents. When they arrived they were handcuffed. The EU response? We are still waiting to hear anything from Brussels. You would think they would be highly interested since it might have been their funds potentially being misused.

It seems that which country gets to feel the wrath of the EU depends more on their political stance rather than what they have done. This is not to deny that there may be issues with governance in both Poland and Hungary. However, other EU countries are doing things that are similar or worse, or have a general atmosphere and environment that allows corruption to thrive and the rule of law to be flouted. Poland and Hungary have refused migrants and reject multiculturalism. Therefore, they get sanctioned while others seem to be allowed to do as they please. Juncker said it himself, he does not want internal borders. Having researched and written this piece I am more convinced than ever that leaving the EU is the correct decision. If we remain then we are complicit in enabling its two-tier system of double standards.
 

© Jonathon Davies 2018
 

Audio file

 

Related Articles