Sander Loones: “EU wants to impose a lax migration policy on Hungary”

“The sanction procedure against Hungary is an attempt to impose a lax migration policy and push through a left-wing socio-economic policy.” MEP Sander Loones, together with the whole N-VA group in the European Parliament, is critical of the Sargentini report about Hungary. “Article 7 must not be abused for mere party-political ends,” says Sander Loones. He advocates keeping the lines with Hungary open.

Respecting the rule of law

On a basis of that report, the European Parliament invoked the Article 7 procedure against Hungary. Article 7 is the most serious punitive procedure possible, as a result of which a EU member state can lose its vote in the EU. The N-VA abstained in the vote on the Sargentini report because according to Sander Loones, “Article 7 should be the very last resort to ensure that the principles of the rule of law throughout Europe are respected”.

Shared values

The abstention does not mean that the N-VA is of the opinion that Hungary cannot be reprimanded. “If you want to belong to the European club, you have to follow the rules. The EU is more than just a question of money; it is a Union based on shared values. The N-VA defends those values,” Sander Loones explains. He points out that the N-VA did in fact support the European procedure against Poland, even though the governing party is in the same European group as the N-VA.

Keeping lines open

MEP Sander Loones is calling for the lines with Hungary and Victor Orbán to be kept open. “If negative signals come out of Hungary, we must point them towards the European rules and obligations. That responsibility weighs all the more heavily on the shoulders of the European Christian Democratic EVP, to which the party of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán belongs,” Sander Loones concludes.