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May 17, 2017; Reuters

European leaders are finally pushing back against Hungarys crackdown on civil society as the European Union (EU) parliament condemned the countrys serious deterioration of rule of law and democracy yesterday in an official resolution.

Its unlikely that the process will result in the suspension of Hungarys voting rights in the European Council, but the action sends a signal to Hungarys increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbn.

As NPQ reported last month, Orbn has been creating and riding a wave of nationalist, anti-refugee sentiment to consolidate power since 2010. Legislation passed by the right-wing Fidesz government as part of their self-proclaimed spring offensive puts the popular George Soros-funded Central European University at risk with tighter regulations.

Thousands of young people protested the new law targeting foreign universities, which was seen as an authoritarian attack on academic freedom, and many called for the EU to respond. Orbns political party saw a sharp drop in voter support following the widespread protests, according to Politico.

According to a press release from the European Parliament, (MEPs) [Members of the European Parliament] say that Hungarys current fundamental rights situation justifies launching the formal procedure to determine whether there is a clear risk of a serious breach of EU values by a Member State.

The resolution calls for:

Article 7 of the EU Treaty allows the member governments to ask a member state to correct a breach of EU values, according to Reuters. If that recommendation is ignored, the other 27 states can decide to suspend its voting rights. However, the vote must be unanimous, and the right-wing government in Poland, which is currently under the EUs rule of law monitoring procedure over its own actions, would be expected to veto any action against Hungary.

Further, Poland has yet to have its voting rights revoked despite being monitored for more than a year. Earlier this year, human rights watchdogs called for the EU Commission to launch the third and final state of the rule of law procedure under Article 7.

The same advocates hailed yesterdays EU vote as a step in the right direction:

Today the European Parliament marked out a clear red line on the protection of rights, which European governments simply cannot cross, Amnesty International said in a press release.

The Hungarian government must hear this loud and clear and bring itself back into line with EU founding principles, and refrain itself from adopting new laws attempting to silence civil society, including the draft Law on the transparency of organizations funded from abroad.

NPQ has reported widely on crackdowns on NGOs with foreign funding in countries like India, Turkey, and many others. And, a recent article in The Conversation makes the case that these happenings are actually part of a documented trend:

Targeting funding is becoming an increasingly widely usedtactic to restrict civil society. The International Centre for Non-Profit Law found that 36 percent of restrictive civil society lawsenacted globally between 2012 and 2015targeted international funding.

A UN Human Rights Council Resolution adopted in 2016 had alreadyexpressed concernsabout the trend in funding restrictions. Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, an expert in the field, describes the attacks on foreignfunding as usually being theleading edge of wider crackdowns on civil society.

While is heartening to see the EU to step up in support of civil society, its a very long road ahead for Hungary to receive any sanctions of consequence.Anna Berry

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European Union Puts Hungary On Notice for Civil Society Crackdown - The Nonprofit Quarterly (registration)

MANILA-European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) President Guenter Taus said the decision of the Duterte administration to stop taking aid from the European Union has "astonished" them since such grants were usually "unconditional."

"We are taken by surprise/astonished by the recent news regarding the Philippines' refusal to accept further EU grants Usually grants by the EU (worldwide) are unconditional and are given in support for various (mostly humanitarian) purposes," he said in a statement Thursday.

Taus said most of the bloc's grant "was earmarked for developing Mindanao, i.e. peace process, green power solutions etc."

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Thursday clarified Philippines was only rejecting EU aid that comes with conditions that may interfere with the countrys internal affairs.

Humanitarian aid which are usually given unconditionally would still be accepted by the Philippines and that existing grants will continue to be implemented until otherwise reviewed by the government, Abella said.

Taus said there may be confusion with the grant schemes and noted that they usually provide clear guidelines.

"Perhaps there may be some confusion/mix ups here with the GSP+ (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) and/or FTA (Free Trade Agreement) Schemes. Both do usually come with clear guidelines and conditions attached, which are always mutually agreed upon and accepted upon signing of these treaties," he said.

"In this particular case, GSP+, an agreement that covers 6300 items for tax and duty free import into all EU countries did have some mutually agreed upon conditions attached to it, while for the FTA it is premature to speculate as it is an agreement still under negotiation," he added.

Taus explained that "In the absence of fully understanding the underlying reasons for the refusal it has to be said that the grant is really designated to further improvements nationwide and to help alleviate poverty as well as establishing peace and order."

He also emphasized the need to ensure peace and order in the country for the business community.

"As far as the business community is concerned, it has been pointed out by most (if not all) business sectors, that peace and order is an essential and integral part of doing business and attracting investments, no matter where these come from. Hence grants help to expedite this very cause," he said.

"While usually grants are not affecting businesses, it must be said that they do greatly contribute to creating desirable conditions for businesses to thrive and spur inclusive growth as it creates much needed jobs and grants come free of charge and conditions," he added.

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ECCP 'astonished' by PH refusal of aid from European Union - ABS-CBN News

Emmanuel Macron is calling for concentrating more power in the hands of Brussels, that is, in the hands of the European Commission. This is despite the fact that Britain is leaving the European Union because of popular rebellion against violations of national sovereignty by Brussels. One cannot have ever more economic and administrative integration on the EU level as long as the primary loyalty of most EU citizens is to their nation and not to the European Union. The linemillions are willing to die for their country, but no one is willing to die of the EUsays it all.

I am not denying that it would be better if Poles and the French, Greeks, Finns and Hungarians would all wake up tomorrow and see each other as brothers and sisters, or at least as dedicated citizens of a United States of Europe. However, this is not happening. On the contrary, EU overreach is alienating more and more Europeans. The EU did well when it stuck to opening borders to trade, a move that benefited all (albeit not equally). It was well tolerated when it arranged for numerous low-key forms of administrative coordination among the nations, for student and scholar exchanges, and set minimum standards all industries and commerce had to adhere to. However, once it introduced a shared currency, affected the budgets of its member nations, opened the borders to the free movement of labor, and pushed for the absorption of a large number of immigrantsit intruded on national identities and the particular values of the various member nations.

As a result, the EU is now trying to stand between two steps. It seeks an ever-higher level of economic and administrative integration. Macron calls for introducing a banking union and for an integrated budget to be formulated by the EU, which all member nations will be required to follow domestically. An EU finance minister will oversee the budget. At the same time the EU is maintaining a low level of political integration, while a higher level is needed if people are to be willing to make the kind of sacrifices for each other and changes in their national policies a much thicker unified EU policy requires. In other words, true community building is severely lagging behind economic and administrative integration. The EU now must either move upby integrating more politicallyor scale back its economic and administrative integration. Regrettably, there are many indications that it will be forced to scale back rather than move up. Nations are restoring border controls, ignoring instructions from Brussels, and public-opinion polls show that increasing majorities are seeking less integration, not more. (They love Europe, but not the EU.) In this situation, to call for more economic integration reflects the kind of thinking a banker, which Macron is, would indulge in, one who missed his Sociology 101 class.

So lets celebrate Macron for saving France from Le Pen and, if you wish, admire his marriage to his sixty-four-year-old wife. For all I care, he may even be able to walk on water, as one of his campaign ads implied. But do not call him a savior of the EU. He is pushing it to the brinkto which it is already dangerously close.

Amitai Etzioni is a University Professor and Professor of International Relations at The George Washington University. For additional discussion of the EU, see his 2016 book Foreign Policy: Thinking Outside the Box.

Image: Celebration of Emmanuel Macrons victory at the Louvre. Flickr/Creative Commons/Lorie Shaull

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How Macron Could Destroy the European Union - The National Interest Online

Countries such as Bulgaria and Poland are claiming big western European landowners and supermarkets are pricing out their own farmers and shopkeepers.

And many of the worst-hit states have rolled out a series of complex new laws to protect their farms and ensure their agricultural industry can survive and thrive.

The new rules have sparked fears the former Communist countries could force an end to the single market, leaving Brussels to strike back with a series of legal challenges.

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In Bulgaria, the European Commission launched an infringement proceeding last year after the country passed a law declaring investors should be resident for more than five years before they can buy farmland.

While in Romania, Brussels recently objected to rules demanding supermarkets source at least 51 per cent of their produce from local suppliers.

But while these cases remain undecided, it is in Poland that the battle against the European Union is being fought the most fiercely.

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There is definitely a push [to undermine the single market], but I dont consider it unjustified.

Attila Szocs, a campaigner at Eco Ruralis

The EU has already ordered authorities to halt a tax which it claims grants a selective advantage to local shops with a low turnover over big foreign-owned supermarkets.

And the country continues to impose laws which, along with other tough criteria, effectively mean anyone hoping to buy land in Poland must have been resident for a decade.

Attila Szocs, a campaigner at Eco Ruralis, a rural campaign group in Romania, said: There is definitely a push [to undermine the single market], but I dont consider it unjustified.

Europe is facing a land rush, where multinational companies and hedge funds are heavily investing in land either for purely industrial or speculative purposes, making this resource less and less accessible for young farmers.

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It is easy to see why the former Soviet bloc is seeing such a land rush, however.

The average price of agricultural land in Poland, which is still not the cheapest destination in eastern Europe, was 9,481 per hectare in 2016.

But in contrast, prices in the Netherlands averaged 59,115 per hectare in March this year, according to official government figures.

Mr Szocs added: There is a great political push to keep the status quo and not permit new investors."

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And he said: The government is using strong nationalistic rhetoric banning land sales towards foreigners.

And the European Commission seems to view this new legislation as an existential threat to the EUs free flow of goods, people and capital.

Referring to the infringement procedures, a Commission spokesperson said: The Commissions services are considering the next steps to take.

At the same time, we are supporting member states to exchange best practices and to find solutions that comply with EU law.

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'It's destroying our country!' Eastern European nations turn back on EU's Single Market - Express.co.uk

Madrid has proposed deeper integration of the 19 countries using the euro, implementing euro bonds, an anti-crisis budget and a common unemployment insurance scheme.

Mr Macron has also spoken out about the need for the European Union to change as he wants a tougher bloc on trade and foreign investment, claiming the euro will fail in 10 years without reform.

Spain is now asking for a real economic government claiming the euro is an unfinished project.

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Its clear that we need to improve the governance of the eurozone

Spains foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis

The countrys government has slammed the euro claiming Europes recent recession revealed critical errors in the design of the currency.

Madrid also said Brussels came up with solutions for only short-term needs.

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Spains economy ministry blamed the eurozone for high unemployment rates in countries most affected by the crisis.

Spains foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, said: Its clear that we need to improve the governance of the eurozone.

The banking union will be the key test.

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Spain has proposed a common budget for the eurozone, a shared anti-crisis budget, unemployment insurance, a treasury, euro-bonds and a banking union.

In a report sent to Brussels, it says: The shortcomings in the euros architecture explains the differential impact of the last crisis.

The euro does not just need firefighters, it also needs architects.

The European project can only endure if its citizens see that it provides sustainable and inclusive prosperity levels.

Spain has also requested more democratic control over institutions such as the Eurogroup.

The European Commission is set to release its own report on the future of the euro at the end of this month along with reflection papers debating ideas for Europe in 2025.

Mr Rajoy has recently visited China to discuss trade links with the Asian superpower.

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Now Spain demands major EU reforms as it rages at eurozone for causing 'huge unemployment' - Express.co.uk