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Poland hopes that Brussels will offer it new proposals to find a way out of the deadlock after the country joined Hungary in vetoing the EU’s 1.8 trillion euro budget, a government spokesman said.
“We are awaiting new proposals that are consistent with the EU treaties and, secondly, in line with the conclusions of the European Council (decisions) of July, when the EU budget was agreed,” said the spokesperson to state radio.
Hungary and Poland yesterday blocked the approval of the EU’s long-term budget and the rescue of the coronavirus and plunged the bloc into a political crisis.
Warsaw and Budapest oppose tying EU funding to respect for the rule of law and their envoys vetoed any decision to proceed, effectively blocking the EU’s strategy against the coronavirus.
“We have already lost a lot of time to the second pandemic wave and the severe economic damage,” warned German Ambassador Michael Clauss, who chaired the meeting.
“It is crucial that the whole package is adopted now quickly, otherwise the EU will face a serious crisis.”
Germany holds the rotating EU presidency and wants to resolve the battle over the budget and recovery before its six months are up at the end of the year.
Now, the ministers of the member states will address the matter by videoconference to prepare the ground for a summit of EU leaders on Thursday.
“We will now continue our intensive consultations with all parties involved,” Clauss said.
The vetoes sparked outrage in Brussels.
Manfred Weber, leader of the center-right group in the European Parliament, declared: “If you respect the rule of law, there is nothing to fear.
“Denying the whole of Europe crisis financing in the worst crisis in decades is irresponsible.”
But Hungary did not regret it.
“Hungary has vetoed the budget,” said Zoltan Kovacs, spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, arguing that the package should reflect an agreement reached in July.
“We cannot support the plan in its current form to link rule of law criteria to budget decisions,” he said.
EU leaders thought they had resolved the dispute over the seven-year EU budget and associated stimulus plan at a four-day, one-night marathon summit in July.
Since then, they have also resolved disputes with the European Parliament over spending priorities, and the € 1 trillion budget and € 750 billion stimulus package are ready for approval.
But Poland and Hungary remain relentlessly opposed to tying their future funding to Brussels’ judgment on whether their spending complies with EU law.
Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, threatened a veto last week, and yesterday his hardline justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, returned to the fore.
“The question is whether Poland … will be subject to political and institutionalized slavery,” Ziobro said.
“Because this is not a rule of law, which is only a pretext, but an institutional and political slavery, a radical limitation of sovereignty,” he said.
However, high-level European diplomats said there was no doubt that the other countries agreed to relax the condition of the rule of law.
“We will see if Budapest and Warsaw are looking for guarantees and if they are acceptable,” said one, warning the opposite of a “serious political crisis.”
Another suggested that Mr. Orban was perhaps looking for more money and could be persuaded.
If the couple continues to resist, their countries cannot be expelled from the EU, but the other member states will have to find another way to build a budget, the second diplomat warned.
The agreement that emerged from the July summit provided for a budget for 2021-2027, called the Multiannual Financial Framework, of 1,074 million euros plus the recovery plan of 750,000 million euros.
The European Parliament rebelled over what it considered insufficient allocations for some of its favorite shows, but agreed to a new deal last week worth € 16 billion.
Yesterday’s meeting of ambassadors was called to approve this and also plans to allow the EU to issue joint debt and raise its own funds.
Thursday’s EU leaders summit will be held via video link. It was meant to address the coronavirus crisis, but can now focus on the need to address the budget stagnation.
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