Orban: We will block any EU action on Poland

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary sees Poland as its ally, and so will block any action to suspend Poland’s voting rights in the EU. “We need to make it clear to the EU that it is pointless to even start proceedings against Poland as there is no chance of seeing it through - because Hungary will be there and form an insurmountable roadblock,” Orban said. Earlier this month, in an unprecedented move, the European Commission said it will ask other EU member states to declare that Poland’s judiciary overhaul constitutes “a clear risk of a serious breach of EU values.” If the states agree, Warsaw’s voting rights would be suspended. The next step in the process is that EU governments, meeting in the Council of the European Union, will hear Poland out and ask it to address their concerns. But if 22 out of the EU’s 28 countries and the European Parliament are not satisfied in the end, the process will move on to the next stages, which may mean sanctions. Sanctions can be imposed with the backing of a majority of countries representing a majority of the EU’s citizens. But to get to that stage, EU governments have first to unanimously agree that what was initially just a risk of a serious breach of the rule of law has now become a reality.