IN THE mid-1990s, as the European Union began expanding eastwards, its politicians faced a tricky question. To join the bloc, countries had to commit to democratic standards, human rights and the rule of law. The EU had a lot of leverage over aspiring members. But what if a country turned its back on those values once it got in?
Article 7 was the EU’s answer. A version of it first appeared in the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999. Governments that violated the union’s fundamental values would be threatened with sanctions, including the suspension of voting rights. Austria had been one of the most vocal advocates for introducing Article 7. But in 2000, when Jörg Haider’s far-right Freedom Party was included in a coalition government, it found itself threatened with the measure it had helped draft. The EU did not suspend Austria’s voting rights, but it did impose some (mostly symbolic) sanctions. They didn’t work, and Mr Haider remained popular.
After the Haider...Continue reading
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