Name? Koen Lenaerts
Westphalian identity? Belgian
Age? 65
Why is he in the news? Koen Lenaerts is the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Under Lenaerts, the court ruled that Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic “failed to fulfil their obligations”.
Why do we care? It seems like the European justice system still works, well, at least the non-political part… Regardless of the ruling, the only institution that can impose sanctions against the three countries is the European Commission. Given that the European Commission is currently under Ursula von der Leyen, who was voted into office through decisive votes by these very three countries, harsh action against them seems unlikely. Orbán turned Hungary into a country without a functioning parliament and nobody really cared.
Why should you care? In case you don’t fulfil your European obligations, do not worry. As long as you voted for Ursula and her Commissioners, you are fine.
Who else cares? The people actually affected maybe? Syrians stuck in an overfilled camp on an island in Greece under horrible conditions. There are about 40000 of them waiting…
Any further comments? The current set up of the European Union is about to fail. Countries are choosing their benefits and obligations from an EU a la carte. If they continue like this, the project from which we all benefit so much might come to an end sooner than we think.
