The European Union wants uniformity of vision and policy among its remaining member states. To this end, bureaucrats in Brussels have worked to crush dissent wherever it crops up. This cultural imperialism has proven ineffective against Hungary, which refuses to embrace the leftist orthodoxies of the day despite facing steep financial penalties for doing so.

Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, made clear Thursday that while the Hungarian government is open to meeting various EU standards, "it would be undemocratic and unacceptable" to cave on policy issues of importance to the Hungarian people, particularly those concerning LGBT indoctrination and open borders.

What's the background?

In recent years, Hungary and Poland have resisted EU demands concerning various matters of policy and governance. This resistance — the product of mandates dictated by their respective populations through fair and free elections — has been characterized as a violation of both countries' respective EU member agreements promising to uphold democratic standards and common values.

The BBC noted that Orbán's Hungary has been accused of various supposed improprieties, including the curbing of minority rights.

A sticking point for leftists in Brussels as well as the Biden administration has been a law, approved in 2021 by Hungary's National Assembly in a 157-1 vote, which increased the punishment for convicted pedophiles and banned LGBT propaganda targeting children.

Orbán has also drawn the ire of EU officials for limiting the influx of so-called asylum-seekers to Hungary by requiring economic migrants and other foreign nationals to submit pre-asylum applications at its missions to Serbia or Ukraine. Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion are, however, exempt, reported Politico.

Brussels has similarly blasted Poland for various policy manifestations of its Christian national identity but accused its former government of undermining the independence of its courts.

To induce compliance, the EU starved both nations of billions of dollars in funding, including pandemic recovery funds that were otherwise given in abundance to other member states. This pressure campaign came to a head in December 2022 when the European Court of Justice ruled that funding was conditional on meeting the EU's so-called democratic standards.

The bloc blocks Hungary

After eight years of resistance with the conservative Law and Justice Party at the helm, Poland appears to be on the verge of capitulation under the new leadership of incoming premier and former European Council President Donald Tusk.

"We have confirmation from the European Commission — Poland meets the last three conditions necessary for the full mobilization of structural funds — €76 billion for the implementation of programs until 2027," Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nalęcz, the funds and regional policy minister, said on Friday.

Budapest, on the other hand, faces a longer road toward appeasement, which Orbán appears uninterested in traveling.

According to EuroNews, Hungary had to meet 27 "super milestones" as well as four additional "horizontal enabling conditions" to receive the whole of the over $32 billion owed to Hungary that has been frozen.

Hungary managed to unlock over $10.9 billion of the funds last month, having apparently addressed the EU's concerns about judicial reform. However, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen suggested last week that Hungary would have cave to LGBT activist demands, guarantee the right of so-called asylum, and bolster academic freedom to thaw out the remainder of the funds, reported Barron's.

The funds "will remain blocked until Hungary fulfills all the necessary conditions," said Leyen.

The European Parliament is not content to even allow Hungary to have the $10.9 billion it is owed. Last week, the legislature reportedly threatened to sue the EU's executive arm over the release of the funds to Hungary. It also raised the possibility of theoretically stripping Budapest of its EU voting rights.

"Parliament will look into whether legal action should be pursued to overturn the decision to partially unfreeze funds, and notes that it can use an array of legal and political measures," the legislature said in a statement.

Digging in

The Hungarian government has underscored that the democratic will of its people is incompatible with so-called democratic standards abroad.

Gergely Gulyas stressed Thursday that there would be "limits" to reaching an agreement with the EU, given what is demanded runs contrary to the will of Hungarian voters, reported the Associated Press.

"The Hungarian government is willing to reach an agreement with the Commission, but in cases where people have expressed a clear opinion, it would be undemocratic and unacceptable," said Gulyas. "For Hungary, even despite the will of the European Commission, it is unacceptable to spread LGBTQ propaganda among children, and we also cannot abandon our position on migration issues."

Orbán indicated in a Friday radio broadcast, "The only thing we can say, very calmly, as a reply is that there there is not enough money in the world to force us to let migrants in. There is not enough money in the world for us to allow them to take away our country. We will not create conditions like we see in Western European states — the threat of terrorism, crime, I could go on and on."

"And there is not enough money in the world for which we would put our children or grandchildren in the hands of LGBTQ activists. That's impossible," added the prime minister.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico commended Orbán last week for standing up for his country's sovereignty and indicated further he would shoot down any effort by the European Parliament to wrest away Hungary's voting rights in the legislature.

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