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Viktor Orban’s praise for Britain’s Brexit comes after he joined Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in vetoing the bloc’s € 1.8 trillion budget and pandemic recovery package. Orban weighed in on the debate surrounding the UK’s approval of a COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech, in a world first in the race for a jab.
He said it was thanks to Britain’s decision to leave the EU that it accomplished such an enormous feat, ahead of the 27-member bloc.
Orban said: “Those who have gone [the EU] go their own way, find their own solutions, and they can improve their health and protect the lives of their citizens faster than we left [in the EU]. “
Earlier this week, the drug regulatory authority MHRA became the world’s first agency to give emergency approval to the coronavirus vaccine, which has infected more than 1.6 million Britons.
Orban called this a “slap in the face” for the EU.
For months he has been at odds with leading EU figures over Brussels’ handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Last month, Hungary and Poland joined forces to block approval of the bloc’s budget in protest at a clause linking funding to compliance with the rule of law.
Orban rejected the financial package that includes 750 billion euros (673 billion pounds) for a coronavirus recovery fund.
He has argued that the rule of law mechanism is “loosely defined” and therefore open to political manipulation.
READ MORE: Brussels embarrassed: ‘EU is marriage in crisis’, says Polish prime minister
On Thursday, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin said that Warsaw and Budapest could accept a “binding” declaration to bring clarity to the rule of law mechanism.
He said both countries could endorse a statement that would provide assurances that the mechanism would only be used to safeguard EU funds and not to exert pressure on other areas of policy.
Gowin admitted that the veto would also harm his country.
He said that his government would be willing to accept such a statement, following his meeting with representatives of the EU Commission.
But on Friday, both Hungary and Poland rejected the idea.
Mr. Orban said: “For us, this solution – attaching a statement as a reminder on a sticky note attached to a piece of paper – will not work.”
“Hungary insists that these two things must be separated.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki backed him up saying: “We clearly say that we will not be able to accept the budget for the next seven years if this regulation is approved at the same time.
“Our partners see that our position does not change.”
Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg.
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