The European Union last week released its annual report of the moment on the rule of law in EU member states, pointing the finger at Hungary and Poland for their harsh criticism. “The dangers of clientelism, favoritism and nepotism” are not taken into account in the first. says the report, while the independence of the judiciary and political pressure on the media are a fear for both. In a sense, this harsh rhetoric has only underlined the EU’s inability to meaningfully confront those intolerant regimes and provoke them to turn the tide. But recent symptoms imply that Brussels is in a position to challenge the budding authoritarians within it through [. . . ]
