*Things are markedly getting more peculiar among the post-Brexit European nation-states.
via POLITICO
FENCING WITH ORBÁN OVER BORDER CONTROL
IRONY ALERT: Somehow, despite not having a valid passport, former President of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski managed to cross the border into Hungary. (Gruevski had been convicted in a corruption case and was due to start a prison sentence, but has now requested asylum in Hungary.) That’s right, the same Hungary whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán fashions himself as the EU’s leading advocate for tough border controls and the enforcement of existing asylum rules.
The Macedonian government doesn’t seem to care how Gruevski got to Hungary. It just wants him back. “We strongly believe that Hungary, as an EU member state and a friend and partner that supported our aspiration towards EU membership, will continue to support our efforts in the fight against corruption and organized crime, including in high-level cases,” a spokesperson for the Macedonian government told POLITICO’s Lili Bayer.
“We do not expect that Hungary will harbor convicted felons who have done damage to the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,” the spokesperson added. “Mr. Gruevski received a court sentence for two years in prison, and he stands accused in numerous other court processes.” Macedonia’s view, the spokesperson said, is “that all EU member states adhere to the same principle of the rule of law.” Club membership always looks more privileged from the outside, doesn’t it?
