2. Enforcement follows naturally from the funding mechanism:
Access to joint funding, industrial cooperation, and defense capabilities is tied directly to maintaining democratic standards. Very simple - fail the democratic checks (Rule of Law index, ICC membership, etc.), and your access to the system's resources and voting rights gets restricted - like originally mentioned.
Continue backsliding on democracy? The restrictions escalate proportionally. This creates both carrots (access to shared capabilities) and sticks (potential exclusion) that make democratic standards self-enforcing through practical incentives rather than just moral arguments.
The Orbán playbook stops working when undermining democratic institutions has immediate defense and industrial consequences. It's a more robust enforcement mechanism than the EU's current Article 7 process.
Access to joint funding, industrial cooperation, and defense capabilities is tied directly to maintaining democratic standards. Very simple - fail the democratic checks (Rule of Law index, ICC membership, etc.), and your access to the system's resources and voting rights gets restricted - like originally mentioned.
Continue backsliding on democracy? The restrictions escalate proportionally. This creates both carrots (access to shared capabilities) and sticks (potential exclusion) that make democratic standards self-enforcing through practical incentives rather than just moral arguments.
The Orbán playbook stops working when undermining democratic institutions has immediate defense and industrial consequences. It's a more robust enforcement mechanism than the EU's current Article 7 process.