POLITICO EU Confidential: VP Věra Jourová on disinformation — US troop pullout — China strategy
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EU Confidential
By Cristina Gonzalez, Andrew Gray and Paul Dallison
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Welcome to EU Confidential, bringing you the latest from our podcast and a lighthearted look at the week’s news.
CATCHING UP WITH …
Věra Jourová, European Commission vice president for values and transparency
When Hungarian police detained people for Facebook posts about the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, it brought back painful memories for Věra Jourová.
The European Commission’s vice president for values and transparency was once falsely accused of fraud in her native Czech Republic and placed in pre-trial detention until the truth emerged.
The detentions of at least two people in Hungary for criticizing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government on Facebook took place under emergency measures curtailing freedom of speech during the crisis.
Both men were released after some hours and the cases against them were dropped. But Jourová said she knew first hand that such an experience can do great damage to people who have been falsely accused.
“I was really very unpleasantly surprised,” Jourová said of the detentions. “I myself experienced such a situation, and the detention and the police investigation — it’s a big blow to everybody, to his or her family, or to his or her professional career.”
She said the detentions could deter others from criticism, producing a “chilling effect,” not only on journalists but on the general public.
Jourová said the European Commission could not take action in those cases as they were not “systemic.” But she said the Commission is watching closely how Hungary deals with the emergency measures now that the crisis is receding.
Critics say the measures, which allow rule by decree, are disproportionate and give the government even more power without proper checks and balances. The government — already in the midst of the EU’s Article 7 censure procedure, accused of jeopoardizing the bloc’s core values — argues the measures are temporary and a legitimate response to the crisis.
Jourová noted the government has announced it will repeal the emergency regime later this month and said that would be “the moment of truth.” She warned Budapest that if elements of the regime remain in place, that would be “a problem from the EU law point of view.”
However, Jourová said she did not agree with historian Timothy Garton Ash’s assertion to EU Confidential last month that Hungary is now a dictatorship.
“I would not go that far,” she said. “But indeed we are very vigilant about what’s happening in Hungary.”
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THIS WEEK
Troop pullout and transatlantic turbulence: Donald Trump plans to slash the number of U.S. troops in Germany but no one’s told Berlin yet. How will Germany and Europe be affected if Trump follows through?
Disinformation decoded: The Commission has unveiled its plans to tackle coronavirus-related disinformation. But does the EU have any hope of curbing propaganda, conspiracy theories and fraud on social media platforms?
No China crisis? The EU’s foreign policy chief says China isn’t a military threat. Plenty of others beg to differ.
DECLASSIFIED
Welcome to Declassified, a weekly column looking at the lighter side of politics.
BAD NEWS FOR RACISTS, HORNY STATUES AND BEAUTY QUEENS
It’s been a bad week for racists and anyone who decided to quit work and invest their savings in a foundry making life-size bronze models of famous slave traders.
As a former resident of the fair city of Bristol, it came as no great surprise to me that the statue of notorious slave trader Edward Colston was targeted during the Black Lives Matter protest, as it’s long been a divisive monument and the subject of calls for its removal. It was something of a surprise that the protesters managed to drag it all the way to the harbor and then dump it in the water, which put Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson in the somewhat awkward position of refusing to say if having statues to slave traders is a bad thing.
Since then it’s been open season on dodgy statues. Authorities in Antwerp removed a statue of the former Belgian king and colonial ruler Leopold II after it was set on fire in protest at his oppressive rule of Congo. Statues of Leopold in Brussels, Ostend, Ghent and other cities were also defaced, set on fire, covered in paint and daubed with the words “I can’t breathe,” the last words of George Floyd. Then down came a statue of slave trader Robert Milligan outside the Museum of London Docklands.
But how wide will the net be cast? Is any statue safe? In the Turkish city of İnegöl is the Köfte Statue — a giant hand holding a fork with a vegan-baiting meatball on it. What about the melty-headed bust of footballer Ronaldo at the airport in Madeira (sadly since replaced with a less gruesome one, with the original in storage, which is the Portuguese word for “sold for scrap”)? Will angry fans of Torino hunt down the statue of the Juventus star?
And what about the statue of Victor Noir in Paris? Noir died in traditional journalist fashion, shot in a duel (probably by his editor) and a bronze effigy sits in Père Lachaise Cemetery with, er, a large lump in the upper trouser area. Legend has it that rubbing the Noir statue’s gentlemen’s area can prevent infertility, so it can be argued that it performs some sort of public service and should remain.
In non-statue but still bad-for-the-extreme-right news, a former contestant in a “Miss Hitler” beauty pageant and her ex-partner were this week jailed for being members of a terrorist group. Now, if only there was some sort of clue that these would be bad people …
CAPTION COMPETITION
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Last week we gave you this photo:
Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best from our post bag (there’s no prize except for the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far more valuable than cash or booze).
“Ursula von der Leyen demonstrates the brace position she’ll adopt when Brexit talks with U.K. PM Boris Johnson crash” by Mike Oehlers.
Paul Dallison is POLITICO‘s slot news editor.
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