Last Thursday EU leaders unblock €1,8 trillion budget and recovery fund after reaching compromise with Hungary and Poland on how to link European funds to respect for the rule of law. The agreement came after intense negotiations in recent weeks, with the aim of lifting the veto of Budapest and Warsaw, who saw the new mechanism, already agreed upon by the European Parliament and 25 member states, as a tool to wage political wars against of them. The lockdown has threatened to derail the next seven-year budget, aimed at mitigating the economic consequences of the pandemic.
The EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed in the conclusions of the summit that the conditionality of the rule of law will only be used for the budget starting next year and for the Recovery Fund, not for payments made from the current balance. The use of the new tool will likely be delayed, as European leaders agreed that any sanctions process could only be launched after approval by the EU Court of Justice.
The governments in Warsaw and Budapest, however, have wanted to avoid any link between EU funds and the ai link core values. The rule of law conditionality will most likely not be implemented for several months, having to get the green light from the Court of Justice. Economists and business groups from both countries had pleaded with governments not to use the veto, as the other 25 European countries could work on a separate recovery package, excluding Hungary and Poland.
Both the Polish and Hungarian governments say the EU's rule of law concerns are actually an attack on political differences, despite human rights groups claiming there are well-documented cases of violations in both Villages. For the past decade, Orbán has prided himself on creating a "Illiberal Democracy" and faced allegations of cronyism and corruption. The Polish Law and Justice (PiS) party has only been in power for five years, but in that time it has undermined theindependence of the judiciary and women's rights.
Opposition forces in both Poland and Hungary are likely to debate in the coming days whether the rule of law compromise is a victory or a defeat for the two governments. Some focused on the positives, while others felt let down by the German EU presidency for accepting the compromise. “Today's agreement is a political decision to push through the budget and sadly, the rule of law mechanism has been sacrificed. Now he is almost toothless”, was the joint statement of the Hungarian citizens' organization AHang and the Polish citizens' movement Akcja Demokracja, who had previously asked the EU to stand firm on the decision.
