EU presses Hungary, Poland
Conditions for coronavirus recovery package spur divisions
BRUSSELS — The German presidency of the EU said Tuesday that further delaying the European Union’s landmark $2.21 trillion long-term budget and coronavirus recovery package would be “irresponsible” as diplomats envisage a solution without Poland and Hungary, the two EU states holding up the measure.
German European Affairs minister Michael Roth said the stimulus is crucial for many European countries whose economies have been devastated by the pandemic. But Poland and Hungary, who agreed on the deal in July, are vetoing the package because of a mechanism that would allow the EU to cut off money to countries that violate the bloc’s democratic standards.
Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has been trying to find a compromise before a summit of European leaders in Brussels starting Thursday, where the topic will top the agenda.
“The social and economic consequences of the crisis become more visible every day,” Roth said, “It would be irresponsible to further delay essential support to our citizens. We need to rapidly unlock the financial support which is so critical for many member states.”
Both Poland and Hungary, which have conservative, nationalist governments, have said they fear the EU mechanism will be used to punish their values.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban came to Warsaw on Tuesday night and held talks with Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is the main architect of Poland’s politics. Media reports said they were to agree on an acceptable compromise from talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the summit.
Orban’s later comments seemed to indicate a toughening of their position but still raised hope for a compromise.
The position of Hungary and Poland is to “defend our national interests and the financial resources to which our nations are entitled, and now we know how to do it,” Orban said on Polsat News.pl.
He insisted the conditions on EU disbursements shouldn’t be linked to the financial plans and said the two nations are counting on “victory” at the summit.
“I think we have a good chance to close this case this week during the summit meeting on Thursday. We are just one centimeter away from it,” Orban said.
If EU leaders fail to adopt the budget for 2021-2027 before the end of the year, the bloc will continue to spend but function on limited resources, with a maximum of one-twelfth of the budget for the previous financial year to be spent each month.