In an interview published in the Financial Times on Tuesday, Justice Minister Judit Varga said Europe needed to “wake up from hypocrisy and start to talk about real problems: anti-Semitism, murders and terrorist attacks in western Europe”.
The newspaper noted that the European Union is scheduled to discuss curbing funding for member states seen as violating its values and laws, a move Hungary “vehemently opposes”. The minister said it was “not fair” for European leaders to “hide behind the corridors of the commission”.
The rule of law is protected by EU treaty and any new mechanism would amount to “a treaty amendment that requires the consensus of member states,” Minister Varga said. She accused the so-called Frugal Four – Denmark, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands – of using the rule of law as an excuse because “they never wanted to give funds”.