It's the EU’s dysfunctional Christmas, and everyone except Brexit Britain is invited

Scandal and impotence in the face of rebellion from individual member states mean there’s little cause for festive cheer in Brussels

Source - Daily Telegraph - 16/12/22

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The EU is not a happy family this festive season. 

A corruption scandal in the European Parliament has embarrassed Brussels as it seeks to financially punish member states for their own alleged “rule of law” failures. And arguments over corruption are now poisoning the bloc’s internal relations, torpedoing its ability to act quickly just when Ukraine needs its support the most. 

EU leaders thought a long-delayed €18 billion loan package for Ukraine was finally over the line when, after weeks of wrangling, Hungary’s opposition was unblocked earlier this week. Viktor Orbán had used his veto powers over the loan as leverage in negotiations on the withholding of EU funds for Hungary due to corruption concerns. 

But the Ukraine aid was tied to other EU initiatives too, including the implementation of a global minimum corporation tax. No sooner had Hungary’s opposition been neutralised than another member state raised objections, again sending the entire package into the doldrums. 

Of all EU countries, Poland was the last you'd expect to raise difficulties in funding Ukraine. But Warsaw did exactly that through surprise objections to the minimum corporation tax forming part of the package – and again, the debate over corruption in the EU ran like a bitter undercurrent through the negotiations.

Warsaw pointed out the bizarreness of a situation where support for Ukraine is conditional on a completely separate EU tax agreement, describing the arbitrary linking of these initiatives as wrong “from a moral perspective.” Poland has long been opposed to the new minimum corporation tax, but seemed to relent when Brussels gave the go-ahead – in principle – to the country’s pandemic recovery funds earlier this year, which, like Hungary's, had been withheld due to rule of law concerns. 

But since then, Poland has not seen a cent of that money, and yesterday Warsaw’s patience seemed to have snap. The Polish government is simultaneously pushing through domestic legislation aimed at finally unblocking EU funds, while it again showed its ability to paralyse collective decision-making if it doesn't get its way. 

Poland may have been inspired by Orbán’s latest disruption tactics. Indeed, the EU appears not to have reckoned with the fact that withholding money from member states merely incentivises them to cause as much trouble as possible, potentially bringing the entire union’s political agenda to a standstill. EU decisions are now at the mercy of a flourishing culture of politically-motivated blackmail. 

The whole affair – the haggling over funds for Hungary and Poland, the EU’s impotent rage at those countries’ cynical blocking tactics – has been sordid and deeply depressing, especially as Ukraine watched and waited for funding from the sidelines. 

But the damage to the EU’s reputation for competency is matched only by the blow to perceptions of its integrity resulting from a corruption scandal rocking the European Parliament. MEPs and NGO leaders mostly associated with left-wing parliamentary groups are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for promoting Qatari interests and four have been charged by Belgian prosecutors. 

The details of the case aren’t yet clear enough for firm conclusions to be drawn, but the scandal seems to highlight deep problems of accountability in the European Parliament – a particular irony given the institution’s supposed role as the directly elected voice of EU citizens. 

But one thing’s already clear. Hit by its own corruption scandal just as it perched atop a moral high horse to punish Hungary and Poland, the EU has been left with egg on its face. 

And the scandal may have wider implications. With Qatar assuming ever greater significance as a natural gas supplier in light of Europe’s attempts to cut off Russian energy, the corruption allegations could scupper potentially useful partnerships with the powerful Gulf state. Keen to prove their disinterestedness, MEPs have voted to suspend all legislative work relating to Qatar pending further investigations. 

Scandal and impotence in the face of rebellion from individual member states mean there’s little cause for festive cheer in Brussels. The bloc is learning a bitter lesson, having stoked internal discord through a divisive anti-corruption campaign while apparently neglecting a culture of venality in its own ranks. Even last night's eventual approval of aid for Ukraine won't be enough to brighten Brussels’ winter of discontent.