A column by MEP Irena Joveva in the Večer newspaper

Today, on the day of the announcement of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the actions of Hungary and Poland brought against the EU’s rule of law conditionality mechanism, the Večer newspaper published a column by MEP Irena Joveva. Joveva writes about the paranoid illiberal politics and certain lack of power of the EU, as well as about the possible levers of pressure on those Member States that do not respect the fundamental values of the EU. Read a brief summary of the column below.

Joveva begins with a quote from a feature aired on Polish public television, which used a Swedish Netflix series to manipulate the migrant issue. The column goes on to explain the modus operandi of illiberal populist and authoritarian governments, to which the EU often needs to respond with certain legislative proposals, one being the upcoming European Media Freedom Act. The political subjugation of the media is, however, not the only segment that disintegrates societies in countries with populist authoritarianism, “The same can be observed in the judiciary, prosecutors’ offices, regulatory agencies, cultural institutions … Anything to maintain a corrupt regime. All the while authoritarian elements are only a means to an end, which is most usually kleptocracy and clientelism.”

In continuation, Joveva focuses on paranoid illiberal politics that, according to her, can never be compatible with democracy. She highlights the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation on the basis of which EU funds can be frozen for certain countries. The Court of Justice of the EU has just announced today that this regulation is in line with the EU acquis, which means that the respective legal challenges by Poland and Hungary were dismissed.

Joveva expresses her firm conviction that, following the Court’s ruling, the European Parliament’s pressure on the European Commission will gradually increase because MEPs simply cannot accept that EU funds are disbursed to illiberal regimes which will then use them to undermine the foundations of the EU. Joveva underscores, however, that the freezing of EU funds is a measure of last resort.

She concludes the column by criticising the paradoxical actions of post-communist countries, while being aware that liberals (in a broader sense) must improve on their ability to address tensions.

You can read the column in full in today’s printed or online edition of the Večer newspaper (in Slovene).