Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Poland refuses attempts by EU institutions to block up to €7.5 billion of funding due to Hungary.
Last Sunday, the European Commission encouraged the European Council to approve the activation of the conditionality mechanism to suspend the allocation of Hungary’s due EU budget. It accused Budapest of corruption and reiterated its concerns regarding the rule of law.
If the plan unfolded, it would be the first time that the conditionality mechanism is used against a member state. The European Council now has a month to approve the commission’s position by a qualified majority vote. In a recent statement, Mateusz Morawiecki clarified that Poland will oppose the European Commission’s proposal.
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Hungary has already had its EU Recovery Funds blocked as well, but the €7.5 billion in additional cuts would come from the EU’s seven-year budget and would mark a severe financial blow to Hungary.
A recent EU report by Green MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield referred to Hungary as a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”. The grievances against Hungary include “government propaganda preventing access to undistorted information, massive use of fake news, and stifling of the independent press.” The report was voted on by MEP’s who, according to Delbos-Corfield “have gone to the limit of their role.”
In order for the EU to block the attribution of EU funds to Hungary, a qualified majority is needed in the European Council. This means that at least 55% of EU member states representing at least 65% of its total population would need to give their green light for such an unprecedented move.
Gergely Gulyas, Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, announced that Budapest would establish an anti-corruption department and a working group with NGO’s to oversee the spending of EU funds.
Image: Shutterstock
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
