Denmark wants Europe to use all its legal tools against Hungary, which has violated the bloc’s common law, Politico reports.
Among other things, Denmark is calling for the use of Article 7. Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre told reporters: “We still see that fundamental values are being violated. Therefore, we will move forward with the Article 7 procedure and invite Hungary to a hearing.” Denmark currently holds the EU presidency.
Article 7 is a part of EU rules that allows countries to exclude or penalize a member state if it violates the bloc’s requirements. It is considered a nuclear legal option that has not been used so far, although Brussels has repeatedly pointed out that Hungary is breaking the rules.
Bjerre also added that
the bloc should consider denying access to EU funds to countries that violate EU laws.
Another serious issue is EU enlargement. The minister mentioned Hungary’s opposition to Ukraine’s accession, and indicated that Denmark is ready to consider all possible political and practical solutions to move forward on this issue. If EU countries decide to invoke Article 7, they could deprive Hungary of the right to vote on issues such as the bloc’s enlargement, thus getting rid of Budapest’s veto on Ukraine’s accession. However, diplomats point out that this requires full support at least from Paris and Brussels, which has not yet been received.
Although Hungary strongly opposes Ukraine’s accession, there is talk that the European Commission could push Moldova’s candidacy forward by officially opening negotiations. Moldova and Ukraine have so far moved towards the EU step by step, and a split could be controversial.
Denmark has stressed that it is not ready for a split accession.
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