The European Commission wants to exclude Hungary and Poland from the EU economic recovery plan

The European Commission intends to exclude Hungary and Poland from the European Union’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan if a compromise solution is not reached at the level of the 27 member states at the European Council summit next week. say EU sources.

European officials cited by DPA and T-online.de say the EU’s € 750 billion post-pandemic recovery fund could be approved through the “Enhanced Cooperation Procedure”, which states that at least nine EU countries are entitled to establish advanced integration or cooperation in an area within Community structures without the participation of other EU countries.

In this way, Hungary and Poland, which block the approval of the European Multi-annual Budget and the Economic Recovery Fund, could be excluded from the decision-making process on the Post-Pandemic Recovery Plan.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has already told the European Parliament that she wants to “save the Recovery Fund”. Ursula von der Leyen announced to the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, that he would propose a “strengthened cooperation procedure in the format of 25 Member States”, according to EP officials quoted by Politico.eu.

Another option would be to create the EU Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery Fund outside of European institutional structures, through an intergovernmental treaty.

“We still do not have a final assessment of the solutions,” said a European Commission official, emphasizing that the “center stage” remains a compromise with Hungary and Poland at the December 10-11 European Council summit.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, last week urged Hungary and Poland to abandon blocking the approval of the European Union budget and relaunch the fund, urging them to challenge the rule of law mechanism in Court. of Justice of the EU.

Hungary and Poland, which have repeatedly stated that they do not agree with the new rule of law mechanism, have blocked a necessary procedure for the adoption of the Community’s Multi-annual Budget and the European Economic Recovery Plan.

The German Presidency of the Council of the EU has just reached an agreement with the European Parliament on the EU budget for 2021-2027. But to enter into force, the draft multi-annual budget of € 1,074,300 million and the relaunch fund of € 750,000 million must be formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The vote in the Council of the EU is unanimous, so only one Member State can block the adoption of the decision.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently warned, in a letter sent to European Union leaders, that he will block approval of the multi-year budget bill if the rule of law rule is introduced. “Although Hungary feels obliged to cooperate in the context of new developments, we may not guarantee the unanimity necessary for the formal approval of the draft budget decided in July,” Viktor Orban said in a letter. Viktor Orban considers that the rule of law mechanism contains “unclear definitions of infringements of the rules”, thus “political abuses may occur”.

The German Presidency of the Council of the European Union has reached an agreement with the negotiators of the European Parliament on a mechanism to condition access to Community funds on compliance with the rule of law, a system that could operate by qualified majority. The interim agreement was reached on the basis of the recommendations made at the July European Council summit and must be formally approved by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. According to EU officials quoted by the German publication Der Spiegel, the European Commission will make official proposals to sanction a state that does not comply with the rule of law. The sanction decision will be made by the EU Council by qualified majority: the votes of 15 EU states, representing 65% of the EU population (a procedure also called the “double majority” rule).