EU - Opinion on Hungary and Poland: The E.U. Puts Its Foot Down on the Rule of Law - editorial board

After years of passively watching nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland undermine democratic rule, the European Union finally drew the line this year and declared that disbursements from the E.U. budget and a special coronavirus relief fund would be contingent on each member’s adherence to the rule of law. Hungary and Poland have shamelessly retaliated by threatening to veto the Union’s next seven-year budget, emergency funds and all, unless the condition is scrapped.

The governments in Budapest and Warsaw couched their defiance with their usual plaints that the bloc was behaving like their former Soviet overlords. “This is not why we created the European Union, so that there would be a second Soviet Union,” declared Viktor Orban, the proudly illiberal prime minister of Hungary. But such posturing has long been discredited, especially as both right-wing governments have happily reaped huge subsidies from the European Union.

The cynical reactions of Mr. Orban and the right-wing Law and Justice government in Warsaw demonstrated how far they have strayed from the fundamental principles they signed on to when they joined the European Union. They make no bones about it: Hungarian and Polish officials recently met to set up a joint institute to combat the “suppression of opinions by liberal ideology.”

Mr. Orban in particular has systematically worked to curtail the independence of the judiciary, bring the press to heel and curb civil society. With Fidesz, his nationalist party, in full control of Parliament, he took advantage of the coronavirus pandemic in March to assume broad and open-ended emergency powers that effectively allow him to rule by decree for as long as he wants.

Note EU-Digest: "Hungary and Poland want all the benefits of the EU, but do not want to comply with the rules - it's hight time for the EU Commission to give them an ultimatum- live up to the rules of the EU or lose your membership"

Read more at: Opinion | The E.U. Puts Its Foot Down on the Rule of Law - The New York Times

The Netherlands: Solar parks in Netherlands to be connected at 70% of their peak capacity –

The Netherlands’ renewable energy sector has reached an agreement with the country’s grid operators and power providers for a faster grid connection of solar parks. PV plant operators will be able to connect their projects at 70% of their capacity and, in turn, they will be allowed to connect them without having to wait for more grid availability.

Read more at: Solar parks in Netherlands to be connected at 70% of their peak capacity – pv magazine International

The Netherlands: Bird flu: Nearly 200,000 chickens culled in the Netherlands after multiple outbreaks - by Alessio Dellanna

Dutch authorities slaughtered around 190,000 chickens after a particularly contagious strain of bird flu appeared on at least two poultry farms, agriculture minister Carola Schouten said on Sunday.

Health workers killed 100,000 hens on a farm in Hekendorp, not far from Gouda, in the west of the Netherlands, and 90,000 chickens on a farm in Witmarsum, in the northern Friesland region.

In both cases, authorities suspected "a highly contagious strain of the H5 variant”.

Read more at: Bird flu: Nearly 200,000 chickens culled in the Netherlands after multiple outbreaks | Euronews

The Netherlands: could require travelers to show coronavirus test results at border

Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health wants to oblige travelers arriving in the Netherlands to prove that they tested negative for the coronavirus no more than 48 hours prior to arrival, he said in a letter to parliament.

Due to the rules around free travel in the European Union and Schengen area, a legislative amendment is needed to require that travelers from these areas show their test results at the Dutch border. De Jonge expects that this requirement will therefore only be implemented for them in the spring at the earliest. For non-European travelers exempted from the entry EU ban, a test statement can be requested from mid-December, he said.

Read more at: Netherlands could require travelers to show coronavirus test results at border | NL Times

The Netherlands: Could there be an indirect mandatory vaccination rule in the Netherlands? - by Victoria Séveno

At a debate in the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) on Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte revealed that cabinet ministers were considering implementing a so-called indirect vaccination obligation in the Netherlands when the coronavirus vaccine becomes available.

Other members of Rutte’s party, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), are also supportive of this policy, with MP Hayke Veldman saying: "I prefer that everyone [is vaccinated] voluntarily, but I am prepared to make it an indirect vaccination obligation so that if you don't get vaccinated, it will have

Read more at: Could there be an indirect mandatory vaccination rule in the Netherlands?

Netherlands has world's highest English proficiency for non-native speakers

Netherlands residents are the best non-native English speakers in the world, according to the EF English Proficiency Index. In the ten years that this index has been ranking English proficiency in various countries, the Netherlands has topped the ranking four times, and has never ranked lower than third.

The index based its figures on English test results of 2.2 million adults in 100 countries around the world. The participants had to complete various tests, including reading advanced texts, using "nuanced and appropriate" language in social settings, and negotiating a contract with a native English speaker.

Read more at: Netherlands has world's highest English proficiency for non-native speakers | NL Times

Hungary says it blocked EU budget over migration 'blackmail' - "which is total nonsense by Orban who destroyed Democracy in his country" said a European parliamentarian

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Wednesday his country vetoed the EU's budget over plans to tie funding to respect for the rule of law, as it amounted to "blackmailing" countries that oppose migration.

Read more at: Hungary says it blocked EU budget over migration 'blackmail'