Friday 25 June 2021

Macro and EU values
“It’s Not a Victor Orban Problem”

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a decisive fight for the values ​​of the European Union. He sees the “rise of liberalism” in “post-communist societies” – and calls for an intense debate about new strategies.

In the debate about gay law in Hungary, French President Emmanuel Macron called on EU heads of state and government to fight decisively for EU values. The question of values ​​is “existential, fundamental” to Europe, Macron said in Brussels. Therefore the EU must “not let these values ​​dwindle among us”.

Macron said it is also a question of the credibility of countries that are being denied entry into the European Union due to a lack of rule of law. He generally lamented the “growth of liberalism in post-Communist societies”. Not only politics, but society as a whole is responsible for this tendency, which undermines the essence of Western liberal democracy. “It’s not a Victor Orban problem,” he said.

Instead, the EU should think about “how these people got to this point,” the French president said. A “deep debate” is needed about a new strategy. This topic should also be raised at the conference on the future of Europe.

perseverance and firmness

In the short term, Macron spoke in favor of supporting the actions initiated by the European Union Commission against Hungary – according to the motto: “rigor to politicians and persuasion to people”. Responsible EU commissioners have meanwhile warned in a letter to the Hungarian government that some parts of the law violate EU law – if Hungary does not give up, they could initiate infringement proceedings.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán had previously received harsh criticism from most heads of state and government at the EU summit in Brussels. Recently passed legislation prohibits any “advertising” of homosexuality aimed at minors. Movies, books or advertisements depicting the life of gays or lesbians in general are affected.