Annika Ström Melin: Let new corrupt and authoritarian leaders not destroy the EU

The European Commission warns about a new Viktor Orbán, but forgets Marine Le Pen. The new rules do not go far enough. THE COLUMN. Annika Ström Melin is a journalist and freelance columnist on the front page of Dagens Nyheter. A clipping from Dagens Nyheter, 2026-10-18 21:23 Original address of the article: https://www.dn.se/ledare/annika-strom-melin-lat-inte-nya-korrupta-och-auktoritara-ledare-forstora-eu-samarbetet-inifran/ The European Commission warns about a new Viktor Orbán, but forgets Marine Le Pen. The new rules do not go far enough. THE COLUMN. Annika Ström Melin is a journalist and freelance columnist on the front page of Dagens Nyheter. You know you can create a free account on DN? As a logged-in user you can access several smart features. "No more Orbán," declared Marta Kos, Commissioner for questions concerning the EU's upcoming enlargement, when she was recently interviewed by the British The Guardian about a new proposal from the Commission. "We need more and faster action /.../ if new member states violate the principles of the rule of law, democracy and our values," she explained. Marta Kos therefore wants a new EU member, who starts pursuing the same kind of politics as Viktor Orbán did, to be prevented in an easier way than today. The proposal is part of a new framework that will prepare the union for growth. "Preparing for a wider Union" is the message from the Commission which was finally presented at the beginning of October after several years of waiting. And now it is urgent. After more years of silence, the EU will soon have new members. Eight states want to be part of the union and six have initiated negotiations, some of which are moving forward at a rapid pace. According to Marta Kos, "two or perhaps three" states – Montenegro, Albania and Moldova – will become member states in 2030. Negotiations with Ukraine are also progressing rapidly. But changes are required for a larger union to function well, the Commission believes. Marta Kos suggests, among other things, that the veto right of EU countries should be removed in more areas (decisions on sanctions, energy taxes, tax evasion and tax fraud) and that the size of the Commission should be reduced. In addition, she wants to make the future EU a union with varying degrees of voluntary integration through more so-called "deepened cooperation". A more effective brake against potentially new Putin-like, authoritarian national EU leaders who want to undermine democracy and tear apart cooperation within the union is really needed. Some special rules are also needed for new member states, the Commission thinks. The EU's agricultural support should, for example, not go to "sensitive agricultural products" in Ukraine, which in plain terms means the country's large grain production. It is unclear whether this would be a transitional provision, which Ukraine accepts, or a permanent rule, which the government in Kyiv firmly objects to for understandable reasons. Otherwise, the Commission's proposals are basically reasonable – but with a big exception. The proposal on how a resurgent Viktor Orbán can be stopped is not connected. Marta Kos states that the current framework does not work and that there is a need for better protection of the principles of democracy and the rule of law in the EU – as well as the principle of loyal cooperation. In that regard, it is easy to agree. A more effective brake against potentially new Putin-like, authoritarian national EU leaders who want to undermine democracy and tear apart cooperation within the union is really needed. But the new, time-limited protective measures that Marta Kos proposes should only be directed at new EU members. 15 years after a country joins the union, the Commission should be able to propose that a new member who violates the basic democratic values of the union, or the principle of loyal cooperation, is excluded from parts of the EU cooperation and ultimately loses its voting rights. Such special protective measures should be introduced unless a qualified majority of member states says no. This means much tougher measures than today. The current rules – Article 7 of the treaty, which is debated – mean that unanimity is required to withdraw the voting rights of an EU country that violates the foundations of democracy. This is the reason why the issue did not even come up for a vote when Poland and Hungary were accused of violating the principles of the rule of law. Sharper rules are definitely needed, but why does the Commission believe that a new Viktor Orbán could only arise in new EU countries? It is a strange conclusion. A new Trojan horse in the style of Orbán would surely be a nightmare for the EU, but such a figure can very well get through in one of the union's current member states. Consider for example Orbán's good friend Marine Le Pen, who is aiming to become the President of France in the next election. She wants to introduce a discriminatory principle of "national preference" in French welfare and plans to halve the country's membership fee to the EU, introduce national border controls, remove French bilateral support to Ukraine, and ensure that France ignores the Court of Justice of the European Union's rulings. With such French politics, today's union would collapse. During Viktor Orbán's long time as Prime Minister in Hungary, it became clear that membership in the EU is based on a strange paradox: a country that wants to participate in cooperation must meet a long series of requirements regarding democracy, protection of human rights, independent courts, and stand behind the principle of loyal cooperation, but if the country that is an EU member then goes in the opposite direction, it is almost impossible to stop it. The Commission can freeze payments to a corrupt and authoritarian EU state, but without unanimity in the Council, the country can still continue to exploit its voting rights and influence the union's development. Now that the EU's rules are being reviewed, there is finally an opportunity to do something about this unreasonable order. The EU is challenged from all possible angles. Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are doing what they can to undermine liberal democracy and weaken cooperation between the democratic countries of Europe. A new Trojan horse in the style of Orbán would surely be a nightmare for the EU, but such a figure can very well get through in one of the union's current member states. Read more: Annika Ström Melin: Alexander Stubb is often wise – but when it comes to the Russian drones, he is wrong