Viktor Orbán on Wednesday complained to MEPs that “you [the European Parliament] want to lecture me about democracy, but yet you keep the Patriots [for Europe] out of committee chairs” (Photo: European Parliament)

Feature

Rule 241: the EU’s hidden ‘bombshell’ against anti-democratic forces

Rule of Law

EU Political

by Alejandro Tauber, Amsterdam,

Hidden in plain sight within the European Parliament's own rules of procedure is a little-known provision that could dramatically alter the Union's ability to defend its democratic values from internal threats.

Legal scholars have dubbed it a "sleeping beauty" and “bombshell” — a potent yet practically unused instrument akin to the EU's own Article 7, de...

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Rule of Law EU Political Feature

Author Bio

Alejandro Tauber is Publisher of EUobserver. He is Ecuadorian, German, and American, but lives in Amsterdam. His background is in tech and science reporting, and was previously editor at VICE's Motherboard and publisher of TNW.