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Is that the breakthrough in the dispute over the EU budget? It is clear that Germany has reached a compromise with Hungary and Poland. An “accompanying document” is intended to allay concerns.
Since Andreas Lieb | 6:21 pm, December 9, 2020
The day before the EU summit, the decisive breakthrough could have been made: the German Presidency has apparently reached an agreement with Hungary and Poland. The two countries had blocked the multiannual financial framework and therefore also the Crown reconstruction program for a total of more than 1.8 trillion euros because they did not agree with the previously agreed link with the rule of law.
The ambassadors of the member states have now gathered in Brussels for an extraordinary meeting. The German EU presidency tabled the compromise proposal on controversial plans to cut EU funds in the future if the rule of law is violated.
According to information from AFP, the proposal provides for an “interpretative declaration” that aims to take into account the concerns of both countries. Due to the rule of law plans, Hungary and Poland vetoed a financial package of 1.8 trillion euros from the EU budget for the next seven years and the Corona aid fund in mid-November.
Without a solution, the EU faces an emergency budget with drastic cuts starting in January. The € 750 billion aid fund against the economic consequences of the Crown crisis could not start as planned.
Clarifications on the rule of law mechanism
In the statement that the member states are now discussing, according to information from AFP, there are several clarifications about the effect of the rule of law mechanism. Consequently, the reduction or cancellation of EU funds will not take effect until there is a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities against it. These procedures usually take between one and a year and a half.
Furthermore, the EU Commission should not take such a decision before having adopted the guidelines for its implementation. This should take several months and should be done in coordination with the member states.
Another point concerns the so-called emergency brake in the mechanism of the rule of law. In previous plans, this gave affected countries the right to refer to him at the summit of EU heads of state and government. However, it should not be possible to exercise a veto at this level. Keep it up now. However, it is clear that the heads of state or government “are striving to formulate a common position on this matter.”
Agreement in principle on the compromise proposal was confirmed on Wednesday morning, among others, by Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin. On Tuesday night, after talks in Warsaw, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the solution was only “one centimeter” away. In the late afternoon of Wednesday, the permanent representatives of the EU countries held a first debate on this issue at a special meeting in Brussels.
Countries like the Netherlands and Luxembourg in particular had recently warned that an agreement should not dilute the planned new procedure to punish violations of the rule of law in the EU. Hungary and Poland wanted to achieve precisely this by blocking the EU budget. Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) expressed the expectation that the German Council Presidency “will continue to be tough on Hungary and Poland and will not make lazy concessions.”
