, Columnist
Hungary and Poland Are Bluffing. Merkel Should Call Them Out
In the fight over money and the rule of law, the European Union is stronger than it looks.
Merkel gives Hungary and Poland a talking to.
Photographer: Stephanie Lecocq/AFP via Getty Images
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Angela Merkel, now in her sixteenth and final year as German chancellor, is surely tempted to compromise with Hungary and Poland for the sake of rescuing a historic fiscal deal for the European Union. She shouldn’t.
That’s because so much more is at stake than that deal, however big it is. And despite appearances, the EU actually holds the stronger hand. At its next summit on Dec. 10, and in the remaining weeks until Germany passes the bloc’s rotating presidency to Portugal on Jan. 1, Merkel should play all her trump cards.