World
Court of auditors slams horse-trading with Orbán over rule of law
![Court of auditors slams horse-trading with Orbán over rule of law Court of auditors slams horse-trading with Orbán over rule of law](https://static.euronews.com/articles/stories/08/25/67/86/1200x675_cmsv2_32384e08-60cd-53a9-8921-b0efb77106fe-8256786.jpg)
Brussels efforts to coax back wayward members like Poland and Hungary are far from foolproof, the budget watchdog said.
A deal to offer Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán EU funds as part of a deal over support for Ukraine was slammed by the bloc’s budget watchdog in a report released today (22 February).
Brussels should enforce the rule of law based on sound analysis, not political horse-trading, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said.
The European Commission has long had significant concerns over judicial independence in Poland and Hungary, but new rules it has introduced are far from watertight and prone to box-ticking, the report said.
“The rule of law is one of the fundamental values of the EU,” ECA member Annemie Turtelboom told reporters, adding that the “situation in some member states has clearly deteriorated” over recent decades.
“New safeguards are really a commendable step forward” from previous lumbering procedures, but “there are chinks in the armour”, Turtelboom said, calling for greater transparency and solid evidence.
Turtelboom cited last December’s European Council meeting in which Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán apparently agreed to relinquish his veto on funding for Ukraine in exchange for €10bn of EU cash.
“Rule of law related decisions must be grounded in technical and legal analysis, however political considerations may ultimately play a major role,” Turtelboom said. “We saw this happening on 13 December.”
“We cannot afford a box-ticking exercise that only embellishes the situation on paper,” she added, noting that Hungary’s new Integrity Authority, whose creation was a condition for the release of funds, was no guarantee of sound spending – not least as Budapest could disband it with few consequences.
Concerned over breaches to the rule of law in Hungary and Poland, Brussels has withheld funds worth €22bn and €134bn respectively, the ECA found.
But despite the eye-catching figures, “the immediate impact is actually quite limited,” Turtelboom said, as the law applies only to future financing, and does not impact farm subsidies.
“One third of the European budget, the Common Agricultural Policy, is at this moment not affected by these measures,” she said. “Whether it should – that’s a political decision, up to the commission, the parliament, and the council to decide.”
In a statement sent to Euronews, a commission spokesperson denied there’d been blackmail by Hungary in relation to the December decision.
“We are applying the rule of law,” the spokesperson said, adding that funds had been unblocked as Hungary fulfilled legal conditions.
“The commission disagrees with the ECA’s description that this is a ‘box-ticking’ exercise,” the spokesperson said. “For all remedial measures, the Commission monitors their concrete application and effectiveness.”
Two weeks ago, the commission issued legal action against Orbán’s government for its “sovereignty law”, which empowers the Hungarian state and secret service to probe any group seeking to influence domestic politics.
The Hungarian government responded that Brussels was trying to protect Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros.
On Tuesday, Poland – now under the more Brussels-friendly rule of Prime Minster Donald Tusk – presented a series of bills to bring it out of the EU sin bin via judicial reforms.
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World
Celine Dion Makes Triumphant Comeback at Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony — Watch Full Performance
![Celine Dion Makes Triumphant Comeback at Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony — Watch Full Performance Celine Dion Makes Triumphant Comeback at Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony — Watch Full Performance](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/celine-dion-olympics-performance-video.jpg?w=650)
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World
95 Libyan nationals arrested in South Africa at suspected secret military training camp
![95 Libyan nationals arrested in South Africa at suspected secret military training camp 95 Libyan nationals arrested in South Africa at suspected secret military training camp](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/07/South-Africa-Secret-Military-Camp.jpg)
South African police arrested 95 Libyan nationals in a raid on a suspected secret military training camp on Friday and authorities said they were investigating whether there were more illegal bases in other parts of the country.
The camp was discovered at a farm in White River in the Mpumalanga province, about 360 kilometers (220 miles) northeast of Johannesburg, police said.
ELEPHANTS KILL TOURIST IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER HE TRIED TO GET CLOSE TO TAKE PICTURES
National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said in a post on the social media site X that the Libyans stated they had entered the country on study visas to train as security guards, but police investigations suggest they have received military training.
The Newzroom Afrika TV news channel broadcast pictures of the site of the arrests, showing a military-style camp with large green and khaki tents set up in a row. Dozens of men were seen lining up as they were arrested. They were wearing civilian clothing.
Local government official Jackie Macie said investigations were ongoing and the owner of the farm would be questioned. He said authorities received information that there were similar secret camps near two other towns in Mpumalanga province.
A camp where 95 Libyan nationals were arrested on suspicion of running an illegal military camp are seen lining up after their arrest on Friday, July 26, 2024 in White River, South Africa. Police say that 95 Libyan nationals were arrested on suspicion of receiving training at a secret military camp in the north of the country. (AP Photo/Bulelwa Maphanga)
The province borders neighboring countries Mozambique and Swaziland and is an area of concern for South African authorities with regards to illegal immigration.
Police and authorities have not said whether the camps are suspected of being connected to a particular group or conflict.
Macie said investigations would establish if there was a network of camps in South Africa and show “why they are here doing military training in our country.”
Police said the men may be linked to crimes reported in communities close to the farm in recent months.
“We have serious cases which have been opened with the police, including cases of rape and armed robberies, which complainants claim were committed by unknown foreigners who seem to be of Asian descent,” said police spokesman Donald Mdhluli.
“We take what we have found here today very seriously because we don’t know who was training them, what were they being trained for and why that training is happening here in South Africa. It may be a threat not only to South Africa but also to the entire southern Africa region.”
Police said the operation to arrest the Libyans and close down the camp began two days ago. Macie said the Libyan nationals had been in the country since at least April.
“The 95 individuals taken into custody are all Libyan nationals and are currently being questioned by the relevant authorities,” Mpumalanga acting provincial police commissioner Maj. Gen. Zeph Mkhwanazi said in a statement.
Mdhluli, the police spokesman, said the country’s security regulator had confirmed that the kind of training that appears to have been taking place at the camp was well beyond the scope of training for security guards.
“The kind of equipment we found here shows that there was intense military training taking place here. This was basically a military base.”
World
Passengers face long, uncertain wait at stations amid rail disruption
![Passengers face long, uncertain wait at stations amid rail disruption Passengers face long, uncertain wait at stations amid rail disruption](https://static.euronews.com/articles/stories/08/60/76/94/1200x675_cmsv2_f96d39cf-cf5a-5a0e-9323-49dbeb24b261-8607694.jpg)
A deliberate fire in a signal box about 60 km south of Lille caused the disruption on the northern high-speed line, with traffic halted around 5 a.m. local time on Friday.
Travel was severely disrupted in Lille on Friday, one of the stations affected by the sabotage that hit major French rail lines ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Many passengers waited with hope that soon turned to resignation.
“We’ve been waiting since 10:38 a.m. for the 11:38 a.m. train, and now we’re just waiting for it to arrive at 2:08 p.m.,” said Delphine, one of the stranded passengers.
“It’s still quite a delay, and we’ll be even later since we’re on a secondary route. I work in Avignon at 9 p.m., so it’s going to be very, very tight. We have a concert tonight — will it even happen? This is all very confusing, and we don’t understand what’s going on.”
For one traveller, this was a rough start to the holidays. “The worst case would be if the train is cancelled entirely and we have to buy new tickets for next week. It would shorten our already brief vacation. That would be a huge problem,” said Hippolyte.
When asked if he had been informed of the delays, Hippolyte said he received the notification just before departure.
“At around 10 a.m. this morning, we were told we were an hour late and would be leaving at 1 p.m.”
“It just keeps getting later as the day goes on. Every time we approach the new departure time, it gets pushed back another hour and a half, or half an hour each time.”
A deliberate fire in a signal box about 60 km south of Lille caused the disruption on the northern high-speed line. Traffic was halted around 5 a.m. on Friday.
The recent acts of sabotage on the rail network highlight that the Olympic Games are turning France into a prime target.
The attack disrupted the transport system on the opening day of the Games, causing delays of up to two hours or even cancellations that affected hundreds of thousands of passengers nationwide.
Authorities in Paris have said they are deploying substantial human resources to counter any threats and to ensure the safety of the events.
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