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A single veto can block the much-earned EU budget. Hungary now appears to be playing this card in the dispute over an instrument for the distribution of funds. The consequences would be devastating.
The EU had just announced that it had finally reached a compromise in budget negotiations for the next seven years. But now the Union faces the next crucial test in the midst of the Corona crisis. As previously announced, Hungary actually seems to want to block the budget decision: according to information from the dpa news agency, the country announced at a meeting of the permanent representatives of the member states that it would not be able to accept the financial package for a billion dollars. The reason is apparently that a new tool to punish violations of the rule of law violates the agreements made by the heads of state and government in July.
If Hungary effectively vetoes, the planned European aid for the Crown of up to 750 billion euros could not be launched as planned. This in turn could have serious economic consequences for countries like Italy. The projected EU budget foresees a volume of just under € 1.1 trillion for the years 2021 to 2027. The negotiators of the Member States and the European Parliament had been negotiating the budget since September.
Money against the rule of law
The cross-compliance regulation criticized by Hungary is intended to make it possible to cut EU funds on a large scale if the rule of law in a Member State is at risk and the misuse of EU funds is threatened or is already underway. act. In particular, this could be the case, for example, if the lack of independence of the courts in a beneficiary country allows the misuse of EU funds or even clearly encourages them. The governments of Hungary and Poland in particular have been repeatedly accused of expanding their influence on the judiciary. All attempts to persuade them to change course by political means have so far failed. The criticism is categorically rejected by Warsaw and Budapest.
It is still unclear whether Poland will also refuse to approve the financial package due to the planned instrument. According to information from the dpa, the country’s permanent representative only made it known on Wednesday evening that an examination was still ongoing. As unanimous resolutions are needed for the core elements of the financial package, a Hungarian veto would be enough to stop its implementation. On the contrary, only a qualified majority is required to adopt the cross compliance regulation. This has already been achieved when 15 EU states agree, which together make up at least 65% of the total EU population.
Time is of the essence
It is currently not entirely clear how the conflict with Hungary can be resolved. It is conceivable that the heads of state or government will have to address this issue at a summit. It is almost impossible for the conditionality mechanism to be abandoned after all. In this case, EU countries such as the Netherlands or the European Parliament could block the financial package in protest.
At the same time, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the EU Commission and the European Parliament are calling for the financial package to be approved quickly. Time is running out because the budget framework and aid for the Corona crisis should come into effect on January 1, according to a videoconference between the head of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen with Merkel and the president of the Parliament David Sassoli.
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