Index – Abroad – Victory and defeat – Chronicle of the adoption of the EU budget

Agreement on the European Union’s next multi-annual budget and a coronavirus recovery fund was reached at a summit of member state leaders in Brussels on Thursday, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, announced on Twitter. Michel said

The milestone recovery package will also facilitate the green and digital transition, he added. According to diplomatic sources who know the details, the agreement reached by the leaders of the 27 member states will include a clause that stipulates that the rule of law mechanism to oversee EU funds will only be launched if the actions of one member state harm the financial interests of the European Union. This means that the mechanism cannot be used for political purposes, they said.

Because what was the problem?

Budapest and Warsaw have influenced the veto of the € 1.8 billion budget fund due to the so-called rule of law mechanism, which allows EU funds to be tied to the rule of law.

Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, the European Commission, and the conditions developed in cooperation with the European Parliament were unacceptable to Hungary and Poland, and were described as political pressure and a violation of their sovereignty. The mechanism listed a series of activities that could be interpreted broadly (migration, state of the press, political and constitutional arrangements), on the basis of which the European Commission could impose financial sanctions for violations of the rule of law. The aim of the mechanism was to prevent EU funds from being used in a way that undermines the rule of law in a given Member State.

Ultimately, the solution was a compromise proposal from the German EU Presidency. The text of the mechanism remained unchanged, but an appendix was added specifying the operation of the mechanism.

Although the Hungarian head of government and pro-government politicians evaluated today’s decision as a victory, according to foreign press reports, it is nothing more than Viktor Orbán bought time.

They protected the money of the Hungarians

“Everyone played their last card, made all the bets, the verdict was born. We have won, because in difficult times, like an epidemic, like an economic crisis, now there is no time to have political and ideological debates that prevent us from acting. Common sense prevailed because we managed to preserve the unity of Europe, ”the Hungarian Prime Minister commented that the agreement was reached in Brussels on Thursday. Viktor Orbán said that we are all aware that now only one stage has been completed, there are proposals on the table that many Member States, such as the Hungarians, will not like, including immigration or anti-family measures.

According to him, there will still be many problems, but today the government has achieved three things, which is why it defended the European constitution, avoided the danger of imposing on Hungarians decisions that we do not want to accept with budgetary means, and defended Hungarian money. which will be useful in the economic development of the coming years. We had a nice evening, you can chill the champagne! Viktor Orbán said at the end of the video. The prime minister posted another video saying: the landing was successful.

Pro-government politicians have also reacted to events in Brussels.

• Judit Varga According to the Minister of Justice, we fought a good fight, we walked the track to the end, we kept our faith. And we won! As he wrote on Facebook, “It took Hungary and Poland for Europe to accept it: it is not the ideological opposition that matters, but the lives of the people!”
• Lívia Járóka The Fidesz MEP also wrote on his community page: “In the last few minutes good news has arrived from Brussels. The leaders of the member states of the European Union accepted the full text of the German compromise budget proposal unchanged, according to which the Polish and Hungarian parties withdrew from the veto. Today is a great victory for Europe and also a great victory for Poland and Hungary, as the 2021-2027 budget and recovery fund can start without delay. Common sense prevails! “
• Saint Rey Alejandra He affirmed that in difficult times, such as an epidemic or an economic crisis, we do not have time to carry out political and ideological debates now that prevent us from acting. The government spokesman emphasized that a phase had already been concluded, there are proposals that many member states, including Hungarians, will not like, including immigration or anti-family plans in Brussels.

Hungary’s behavior was of fundamental importance

Since the agreement was allegedly made with Polish-Hungarian requirements in mind, “Hungary’s conduct played a key role,” said Poland’s deputy foreign minister. He explained that this had led to the creation of an alliance (Polish-Hungarian) that ruled out that someone “would negotiate with only one of the two countries, pushing the other against the wall.” The Polish and Hungarian prime ministers “made it very clear that they would only accept a solution that was acceptable to the other country,” he referred to a joint statement by Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Mateusz Morawiecki in Budapest in November.

According to him, such joint action is a rare fact in international relations, where “individual play for one’s own interests is the most common.” In the case of the budget package, “the Polish and Hungarian interests are clearly intertwined,” “we could have achieved more together,” Szynkowski and Sek said.

Europe is moving forward, with the approved long-term budgetary framework and financial aid package for economic recovery, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels. The chairman of the committee stressed that the EU’s seven-year budget and the financial endowment of the fund for the corona virus epidemic, which amounts to around 1.8 trillion euros, are a resource to help rebuild and build. a more resilient, greener and more digital European Union.

This is how the expert sees it

The compromise, which has now been reached again, serves the unity of Europe, said Ms Ágoston Sámuel, director of the Perspectiva Institute on public television. According to his assessment, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has “scored a goal” both in Hungary and in Europe.

The head of the Mirador Institute recalled that Viktor Orbán had already reached this commitment in the summer. Now the political struggle is over. He also mentioned that left-wing opinion leaders have spoken abroad and in Hungary recently that Viktor Orbán will lose the fight. According to Mráz Ágoston Sámuel, it also turned out that the Hungarian opposition does not really understand how the European Union works, and also that Hungary is a good defender of interests.