EU Treaty limits Brussels’ powers, Kinga Gál tells von der Leyen
Kinga Gál, first vice-chair of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, has called on Ursula von der Leyen to stop the expansion of Brussels bureaucracy into the domestic politics of EU member states. Speaking in the European Parliament, Gál did not soften her language.
“Madam President, today’s speech contained more grand slogans than ever. Empty words and theatre played the main role. Yet what is needed now is fewer slogans and more action,” she said, addressing von der Leyen directly.
According to Gál, only sovereign and economically viable member states can guarantee the freedom and security of their citizens. She pointed to what she described as von der Leyen’s own admission of EU interference in Hungary’s parliamentary elections on the side of the Tisa party, thereby depriving the country of sovereignty.
In effect, the Patriots for Europe MEP accused Brussels bureaucracy of violating Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union, which states:
“The Union shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the member states in the Treaties to attain the objectives set out therein. Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the member states.”
“Madam President, you yourself have practically admitted that you did everything to remove the sovereign patriotic Hungarian government,” the vice-chair of Patriots for Europe said.
Patriots for Europe accuse Brussels of double standards
According to Kinga Gál, the new government represented by the Tisa party has now fully turned into a Brussels puppet and already fulfils the European Commission’s expectations without needing to be told.
“For this you praise them, while at home they trample on democracy and the rule of law with arbitrariness reminiscent of the darkest years of communism,” the politician said.
In this context, Gál accused von der Leyen of double standards on democracy and the rule of law. She said Brussels had spent years criticising the previous Hungarian government, but now “keeps silent” when it comes to the actions of the new cabinet in Budapest.
“This is the height of hypocrisy to attend a celebration of democracy. Madam President, enough theatre. Finally, act on the basis of common sense,” she concluded.
For now, these calls remain largely rhetorical: Patriots for Europe does not have enough votes to change the European Commission’s course. However, the very framing of the question around respect for the EU Treaty, a document Brussels itself formally recognises as binding, creates an uncomfortable framework for von der Leyen, one that is difficult to escape without acknowledging her own double standards.
