Rule of law – what does it really mean?

27.11.2020
In June, the EU decided on its budget for the next seven years, including key investment programmes meant to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and prepare Europe for the climate crisis.

After a major economic recession, investment and jobs will come in handy to everyone, after all.

Thanks to the Parliament’s pressure, the EU’s institutions managed to push through new conditions for the budget. Access to funding is now newly regulated by the RULE OF LAW conditionality.

What does that mean?

Piráti_rule_of_law_infografika.png

Hungary and Poland vetoed the budget, claiming that these conditions were directly affecting their rights and that it was all about refugees. That is, simply put, a lie. The rule of law conditions have no relation to migration policy, while new budget changes even mean an additional investment of billions of euros for protecting the common border.

On Thursday the 19th of November, there was another round of negotiations between the EU’s Prime Minister, but it brought no progress. The Council President and Belgian Prime Minister Mr. Michel stated that a clear majority of the states are still in favour of the agreed upon conditions, but some cannot support them, so more negotiations are in order.

In reality, it only means one thing: Viktor Orbán cares more for funding his sycophants, while the Polish government is only concerned about its power to dismantle the judiciary any way it sees fit.

Europe is in decline. The EU was and is still supposed to be a democratic club of states that follow some fundamental rules, as is still stipulated in the Treaties. And that is not only the right thing to do; it is also the practical thing. If we want a strong single market, shared investment, and common border, we must trust one another. And there is simply no trusting authoritarians.

We will keep you posted about further developments on this page. I will appreciate it if you tell your friends about this situation. In the following days, push will come to shove, and we will see whether we are a truly democratic union, or whether we will let those interested in bending the rules have their way.

DO YOU AGREE THAT THE CONDITION OF THE RULE OF LAW SHOULD BE INTRODUCED?

Support us by applying the frame on Facebook. It is really easy:

1) Go to the link below.
2) Select a frame: EU needs RULE OF LAW (page Mikuláš Peksa).
3) Click Use as Profile Picture.

FB FRAME link

Add the following description to the profile photo. We need to put pressure on governments to understand that the rule of law is a fundamental condition on which we agreed across the EU. We will not give in to authoritarians:

I support the condition of rule of law for drawing EU money. I don´t want European money to flow for authoritarian regimes, which often abuse subsidies. At the same time, I want the EU Member States to uphold fundamental democratic values and not to violate the principles that protect ordinary EU citizens. Join us and fight for the rule of law by applying the Facebook frame! More info at www.mikulas-peksa.eu/rule-of-law.