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European Minister Edtstadler on the tensions in the EU, her criticism of Poland and Hungary and her desire to convene a future conference.
Die Presse: The EU is experiencing the third consecutive crisis. After the financial and immigration crisis, now the crown crisis. Has the Union stood firm in this latest crisis?
Karoline Edtstadler: I never hid the fact that at the beginning of the crown crisis there was nothing to hear from the European Union at first and then initiatives like joint contracting did not work. But then the Member States realized that we can only survive this crisis together. Solidarity with those most affected has been developed. After five days and four nights of negotiations, the largest EU budget of all time and a reconstruction fund were approved in July. The really big achievements are investments in digitization and climate protection, research and development, especially in a vaccine, as well as the joint procurement of these 1.8 billion doses of vaccine, which the EU Commission has now addressed. That would not have been possible at the national level. This shows that there are possibilities for the EU to stick together in such situations.
Hungary and Poland continue to block the big budget and the fund. Do you understand that?
