EU: Hungary and Poland block budget and recovery plan

The President of the European Parliament David Sassoli.

REUTERS / Francois Lenoir

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

While the governments of the European Union have largely started to notify the European Commission of the projects they intend to finance for the European recovery plan, it is again threatened.

Poland and Hungary refused to validate it after this 750 million euro stimulus plan had been the subject of a compromise with forceps after a four-day marathon summit last July.

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With our correspondent in Brussels,

The budgetary blockage of Hungary and Poland is not really a surprise, but it remains through the throats of negotiators of the European Parliament and Germany, which chairs for six months the council of the 27 Member States: they had triumphantly announced a compromise last Tuesday after long negotiations.

This compromise (which increases the EU budget over seven years by 17 billion euros) is now under threat.

Because Poland and Hungary reject the entire financial package, both the recovery plan and the common budget.

The veto of Poland and Hungary is still linked to the rejection by the two countries of the link with the rule of law.

Conditionality had however been the subject of an agreement in early November between Germany and the European Parliament: deprivation of European funds in the event of non-respect of the independence of the judiciary or of obstacles to the freedoms of the press or teaching for example.

►Also listen: Should European funds be made conditional on respect for the rule of law?

The President of the European Parliament David Sassoli therefore congratulated himself a bit quickly last Tuesday when he said that it would not be possible to go back.

According to the Polish and Hungarian governments, this conditionality is directed directly against them and Central Europe in general.

It now remains to be seen whether the two countries are ready to provoke a serious open crisis by bracing themselves on their veto.

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• European Union

• Poland

• Hungary

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Should European funds be made conditional on respect for the rule of law?