The decision may only be the beginning. It means the European Commission may now restrict dissent and punish members found to have damaged the institution's image and reputation. The case has wider implications for free speech that could extend to EU citizens who do not work for the Brussels bureaucracy, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, correspondent for the London Telegraph, commented. Curiously, the Court s ruling stated that the European Commission could restrict dissent in order to protect the rights of others. So, let me get this straight.
Someone criticizes the central government.
The central government arrests the critic. The people s rights are thereby protected. In his book Connolly warned that Europe s Economic and Monetary Union was a threat to democracy and freedom words that the judges singled out as offensive to the Court. As punishment, they have turned Connolly s warning into a prophecy. Their decision that the European Union can outlaw such words and punish its critics is a threat to the democracy and freedom enjoyed by so much of Europe.