The Gruevski case: a further crack on EU relations right at the outset of budget talks

HUNGARY - In Brief 30 Nov 2018 by Istvan Racz

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In recent days Hungary's government granted right of asylum to Nikola Gruevski, former prime minister of the FYR Macedonia, who was sentenced to a two-year prison term in his home country, for various wrongdoings involving corruption and abuse of power. This followed a somewhat unclear escape by Mr. Gruevski from Macedonia (where his immunity has just been withdrawn by parliament), in which Hungary's diplomatic services provided partly proven and partly alleged (by the western press) assistance.Mr. Gruevski has been long considered as PM Orbán's close political ally, and according to Hungary's opposition press, Fidesz' political family also has significant business interests in Macedonia. Officially, Hungarian government speakers say that this alliance is due to the fact that Mr. Gruevski and Mr. Orbán have fundamental agreement on their well-known anti-immigration policies, and Mr. Gruevski's conviction by a Macedonian court was nothing else than political conspiracy backed by a leftist government, acting on behalf of George Soros, Fidesz' long-time public enemy No1, exactly for Mr. Gruevski's tough line on illegal immigration.The main problem with this whole case from investors' point of view is the fact that Macedonia is an official candidate for EU membership, and so the affair qualifies as an intra-EU matter. The European Parliament just yesterday discussed the EU Commission's (otherwise praising) report on the state of affairs and the progress made by Macedonia on a number of issues (including the rule of law). The EP approved this report with an amendment, which condemned Hungary's government for providing asylum to a convicted person, and called on the governme...