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The European Union has agreed with Poland and Hungary on the budget. Photo france24.com
On December 10, the European Union was able to approve the budget, which had previously been blocked by Hungary and Poland. In it appeared a special fund for the fight against the coronavirus worth 750 billion euros.
The reason for the blockade was a comment in the bill that aid to EU countries will be carried out only if they observe the “rule of law.”
Warsaw and Budapest, which for several years have been ignoring a number of EU rules (on migrants, LGBT people and freedom of expression), could run out of money as a result of this rule. Specifically, 23 billion from the special fund went to Poland and 4.3 billion to Hungary.
On the eve of the EU summit, which will be held on December 10-11, Berlin held talks with Warsaw and Budapest. As a result, an agreement was reached and the “rebels” from Eastern Europe supported the budget.
What is the essence of this commitment?
The condition of the “rule of law” was maintained in the budget. However, the parties agreed on a document that defines the mechanism for launching the sanctions. It gives Poland and Hungary the opportunity to appeal the decision and freeze it during litigation.
In other words, while the case is being considered in the EU court, the European Commission is obliged to continue providing assistance. Note that cases are heard there for several years.
Second, the old payments that refer to the 2020 budget will continue no matter what.
Third, the document contains the requirement to “seek a common position” among EU countries if the state that was fined brings the issue up for discussion.
That is, in essence, the principle of “rule of law”, which Poland and Hungary do not like, cannot be eliminated. But it turned out that it created a mechanism to delay the fine process.
Furthermore, as a result of the EU summit, which ends today, the parties must issue a statement that fines will be introduced for non-compliance with the “rule of law” to guarantee a specific spending of money and not as punishment. This was reported by Reuters.
Earlier, “Strana” reported how the American billionaire George Soros asked the EU not to commit to Poland and Hungary and to “steer” them away from European financial aid. In response, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on Europe to expel Soros’s structures and discard his ideology.
As you can see, the European Union leadership decided not to aggravate the conflict and reached a compromise with the Poles and Hungarians.
