The package includes the EU’s € 1.1 trillion ($ 1.3 trillion) multi-year financial structure, paid for by each member state and divided into blocks over a seven-year period, and a special Covid recovery fund of 7 750 billion (of 858). Billion, for which the EU will raise money centrally in the financial markets and provide to member countries both as loans and grants.
Two member states, Poland and Hungary, vetoed the agreement in previous meetings of member states in opposition to the EU, withholding funding from member states believed to be in violation of the rule of law. Both countries are currently investigating the allegations, ranging from the suppression of political protests to allegations of undermining the independence of judges.
However, a meeting in Brussels found a compromise that satisfied the two criminal states. If enough member states believe that Poland or Hungary, for example, are not following the agreed rules and norms of the European Union, they can provoke a vote that can be secured by a qualified majority. However, the latest agreement gives the country the option to challenge that decision in the European Court of Justice in question.
Vera Jaurova, vice-president of the European Commission, said she was satisfied that the legal text of the conditional regulation of the rule of law was unclear and that there was “a proper majority vote in the council’s decision.”
He also said that he believes that “some member states will seek full legal certainty before the European Court of Justice on this important matter. This is their right. I look forward to moving forward. In my view, we have been talking for months, years.” Than. “
However, it cannot satisfy the critics of Hungary or Poland. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb claimed victory soon after the agreement was reached. “We have won. In epidemics, in difficult times of economic crisis, there is no time to continue political and ideological discussions, which prevents us from acting,” Orben said.
Jakob Jarakzewski, legal officer at Democracy Reporting International, told CNN that there were concerns that the cushion added to the rule of law would delay its effective use. “If member states are able to challenge the proposed regulation before the European Court of Justice, it will take a long time before the conditional method is effectively implemented.”
The agreement will bring great relief to European citizens who have suffered badly during the Covid-19 epidemic. Indeed, Brussels ’top brass was in a celebratory mood.
However, in the coming days, it is likely that EU critics will accuse the rule of law of being flouted, which is the basic foundation of the group’s integrity.
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