Brussels was delighted at the end of the working week (read Thursday) by the news that Huawei, the Chinese telecoms network provider, is suspected of bribing more than a dozen MEPs.
The reaction was predictable: feigned shock, calls for immediate action and plenty of righteous condemnation from the media.
The scandal proved such an effective diversion that one might have thought Viktor Orban was behind it all.
While the press was producing gripping reports of sealed offices and “blue and white police tape on the doors of the European Parliament offices”, the real theft was taking place behind closed doors in other places in Brussels, far beyond the jurisdiction of the gendarmes .
Not for the first time – and probably not for the last – Orban has managed to hold Europe hostage by vetoing the extension of sanctions against thousands of Russians and organisations for another six months.
As usual, EU ambassadors caved in and agreed to exclude several people from the Hungarian leader's wish list, including several oligarchs and their close relatives.
To be fair to the ambassadors, they had no choice. If they had not struck a deal, sanctions against thousands of Putin cronies and their corporate entities would have expired this weekend, freeing up billions in frozen assets.
Unsurprisingly, they have tried to portray the deal as a defeat for Orban, with one diplomat telling Euractiv: “The compromise speaks for itself.”
This is indeed true, just not in the way the diplomat thinks.
This episode best illustrates how easy it is to play in the EU.
At a time when Brussels should be exerting maximum pressure on Moscow, the continent's leaders have once again allowed themselves to be manipulated by Europe's most cunning businessman, whose true motives they themselves do not fully understand.
But don't worry: the amounts in question far exceed the cost of several luxury trips to China, football tickets and any other perks Huawei allegedly spent on MEPs.
More precisely, corruption must be rooted out and prosecuted wherever it occurs.
But we shouldn't be naive either. The big theft is happening right under our noses. If the authorities really wanted to “follow the money,” they would have already gone to Budapest.
Round up
Sanctions – Hungary on Friday dropped its objections to the reimposition of EU sanctions on Russian individuals and entities after several names were removed from the list.
Energy – Strict rules for hydrogen production in Europe create regulatory barriers to expanding the market for green gas, four EU countries say.
Health – Life expectancy in the European Union reached 81.4 years in 2023, the highest value ever recorded by Eurostat.
Agriculture – EU envoys on Friday endorsed a proposal to raise duties on Russian fertilisers, as well as further increases on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, hoping for approval by the summer.
All over Europe
Germany – Germany's two main centre parties struck a deal with the Greens on Friday to pass a massive infrastructure and defence spending package, marking a major turning point in the country's usually cautious fiscal policy.
Greece – Centre-right Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today announced a cabinet reshuffle as his New Democracy party continues to fall in opinion polls.
Source: Source
