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According to the foreign press, the Polish and Hungarian governments have hardened their positions in the debate on the EU budget and recovery fund, which, among other things, makes the German government’s attempts to defuse the conflict unreliable. .
Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of Poland and Viktor Viktor Orbán, has hardened their position in the debate on the rule of law, making it difficult for EU member states to adopt the seven-year budget and crisis fund financed by loans from the EU, the two leaders said on Nov. 26.
The German EU Presidency and the European Parliament agreed in October that the rule of law should be linked to the payment of EU aid. This is aimed at slowing down or reversing the process by which an illiberal political system is emerging in some Member States, recalls the British newspaper.
The governments of the two countries do not agree with this, they are opposed to linking the two because they believe that the requirements of the rule of law are not exact, which allows most member states to arbitrarily exclude certain countries from the EU funds. Orbán and Morawiecki detailed their objections in a press conference after their summit, proposing to separate the decision on the seven-year budget and the rule of law recovery fund.
The proposal
In a joint statement, the two heads of government explain exactly what they mean, Euronews indicates in its article. They suggest that two votes be held in the decision-making body of the EU heads of state and government, the European Council. First, the two funds must be decided, without adding additional conditions to those agreed at the July Council summit. (The need to apply the criteria of the rule of law was also included in the agreement at that time, but was not embodied in any specific legislation. It was established by an agreement between the European Parliament and the German Presidency in October – ed.)
According to the Morawiecki-Orbán Declaration, on the second vote, the Council should issue an opinion on whether it considers it appropriate to link budget payments to the rule of law. If the panel votes in favor, negotiations must begin on an amendment to the EU Treaty, as this is a serious issue that must be resolved at this fundamental level. (Experience has shown that modifying the EU Treaty is extremely cumbersome, mainly because it must be approved by the parliaments of all Member States – ed.)
Alarm signal
A press conference of the two prime ministers, according to the Financial Times, sounded the alarm in other EU member states. The budget and the recovery fund should be approved at the European Council summit on 10-11 December, but due to Polish and Hungarian vetoes, it is suspended in the air. “The European Parliament does not want to reopen the debate on the criteria of the rule of law under any circumstances, the two governments are isolating themselves more and more,” said a prominent EU diplomat, citing various media.
According to the UK trade report, the search for solutions will accelerate to allow all 25 Member States to accept the recovery fund, excluding Hungary and Poland. Politico mentions that the two prime ministers have toughened up despite German Chancellor Angela Merkel spending the last few days finding a compromise to resolve the dispute. Darren McCaffrey, editor-in-chief of Euronews, said Orbán and Morawiecki’s actions nullified German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ statement that the conflict was close to being resolved.
Meanwhile, Charles Michel of the European Council and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, appear to have spoken at the press conference of the two heads of government. Both posted on Twitter at the time of the event that in preparation for the December summit, they had a fruitful discussion on the economic impact of the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic with Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank.
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