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From: TT
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Photo: Czarek Sokolowski / AP / TT
Hungary and Poland, here in the form of Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Mateusz Morawiecki, continue to say no to the next long-term EU budget. Stock photo.
The message for Poland and Hungary is clear in the EU budget battle: we will move forward without you, if necessary.
The fight for tougher democratic demands can change the whole of the Union.
In just a few weeks, the next long-term EU budget will come into effect for the years 2021-27.
However, Poland and Hungary have taken sides, declaring that the plans cannot be approved, while the other EU countries insist on introducing a new system to ensure that all countries comply with the fundamental principles of the rule of law and democracy. .
However, the Hungarian-Polish veto runs the risk of becoming a rounding mark if the rest of the EU holds firm.
– We must stick to this, that is our line, says EU Minister Hans Dahlgren (s) after consulting with the EU Riksdag Committee before next week’s meetings on the issue.
The week will be decisive in the budget battle. The EU Heads of State and Government will meet for the last summit of the year on 10-11 December, hoping that everyone will say yes to the long-term budget.
– The important thing is that the agreement is maintained, that we establish a mechanism, says Dahlgren on the rule of law and how they should be protected.
He describes it as Germany, which now chairs the Council of Ministers, has a very difficult task. But Sweden is not opposed to a clarification that could remove opposition from Poland and Hungary. Poland has suggested that it could be a way forward.
But it should not be, says Dahlgren, a relaxation of what was agreed in the marathon negotiations in July.
– There should be no deviation from what was agreed.
Twelfths
The European Commission has started to prepare the reserve measures that will come into force automatically if no agreement is reached on a long-term budget. In that case, the EU continues to work month by month with one twelfth of the funds that were valid the previous year.
It is true that this has many disadvantages: there will be much less money than the EU countries actually agreed, there is a great risk of late payments for all kinds of projects and only “old” budget investments can be considered, not the new ideas developed for it. new long-term budget.
In addition, there will be at least a temporary goodbye to the discounts for which Sweden, among others, has fought hard in the negotiations.
Double loss
On the other hand, Poland and Hungary in particular are two of the countries that will be most affected by the reduction of money in a twelfth budget, especially if the majority EU at the same time decides to go ahead with its own, called in-depth cooperation, on the giant crown support package that is tied to the long-term budget.
If there is a twelfth budget, the new rule of law and democracy will also go into effect unchanged.
The governments of Budapest and Warsaw risk a double loss: less money and tougher demands.
At least that has made Poland start thinking.
– A provisional budget will be to the detriment of Poland and the other 26 countries. All Europeans are interested in finding a good deal, a good compromise, said Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin after a visit to Brussels on Thursday.
Decisive week
According to Jaroslaw Gowin, Poland can think of a solution through a joint statement on the new conditions.
“A clear statement from the European Council (summit) that the terms and conditions are not being used to exert undue pressure on individual member states in areas other than the use of EU funds,” Gowin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is not so keen on the idea.
– It doesn’t work, says Orbán on Hungarian radio on Friday morning.
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