Prague, Sept 14 (CTK) – The Czech Republic, with its positions and promoted values, tends to incline to populism similar to Viktor Orban Hungary’s and it should not be surprised if critics proposed its expulsion from the EU in addition to Hungary, Teodor Marjanovic writes in daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) yesterday.
He reacts to Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn’s statement on Tuesday that a state that violates fundamental values like Hungary, with its unacceptable approach to refugees, should be temporarily expelled from the EU, and even forever, if necessary.
Asselborn did well to rebuke Hungary with unseen sharpness. The debate on the EU should not focus only on issues such as technical questions related to Brexit or the impact of the planned EU-U.S. TTIP trade agreement, Marjanovic writes.
It would be good if Asselborn’s lash-out triggered a debate on what the EU wants to be and how it wants to be assessed by the next generations, Marjanovic writes.
The EU’s survival is tied with the idea that it is not merely an economic cooperation forum but also a community of those who share values such as solidarity, mutual help and respect for the rule of law and transparency. This is also where the EU’s strength and permanent attractiveness lie, in spite of its swelling bureaucracy and dubious leftist-obstinate approach to civilisation issues, Marjanovic writes.
True, none of Asselborn’s counterparts in the EU countries joined his lash-out against Hungary on Tuesday, not even his personal friend, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who even promptly rejected the idea of Hungary’s expulsion during his visit to the Baltic area, Marjanovic writes.
However, this could be expected, as European politicians and diplomats are known for shunning quick and unexpected decisions, he says.
In this connection he mentions the previous “unbearably lengthy” discussion on Greece that was irresponsibly indebted and forged its economic data. Its expulsion from the EU was debated for a long time, with the EU repeatedly considering its pros and cons. The last straw was the Greek referendum last summer, in which the Greeks once again rejected the tough conditions the EU set for their debt repayment, Marjanovic writes.
After German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble proposed an immediate, though “temporary,” expulsion of the Greeks from the Euro zone, they nodded to even tougher conditions than those rejected by the referendum. They tightened their belts and have been duly repaying their debt since, Marjanovic writes.
The Hungarians have not gone as far as to face a “Schauble-like” gloomy threat. On the contrary, the EU long seemed to tolerate everything on Prime Minister Orban’s part, not only his selfish and merciless approach to people in need but also his crackdowns on the freedom of speech and the judiciary’s independence, Marjanovic writes.
Moreover, Orban, in cooperation mainly with Slovakia, has been transforming the Visegrad Four (V4) group, which also includes the Czechs and Poles, into a platform to torpedo all EU proposals aimed to keep to its humanitarian values. Briefly, Orban behaves like a hateful autocrat, Marjanovic writes.
Asselborn therefore seems to have said what other politicians have been telling each other off record for a long time but they would not dare say it in public. This was an advantage of Orban, and let us hope he will lose it now, if Asselborn’s words about Budapest’s expulsion meet with a positive response at the EU Bratislava summit on Friday, Marjanovic writes.
The trend of a political decline towards populism, of which the approach to refugees is the best illustration, can also be seen in the Czech Republic, he continues.
Czech President Milos Zeman, the two big government coalition parties, or the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the ANO movement, as well as the prevailing part of the opposition have embarked on the same path of populism, Marjanovic writes.
Czech parliament has repeatedly discussed ways to build fences and barriers along the border and to equip the military with weapons in order to effectively intervene against a wave of poor refugees, Marjanovic writes.
No such measures have been needed so far as no refugees have headed for the Czech Republic. This, however, does not mean that the Czechs are less Orban-like. They should not be surprised if someone proposed their expulsion from the EU, Marjanovic concludes.
