On Tuesday 17 November, the European Affairs Ministers were unable to finalise the long-awaited agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 and the EU Recovery Plan, due to the Hungarian and Polish deadlock on the mechanism linking the budget to respect for the Rule of law (see EUROPE 12602/1).
The General Affairs Council of the EU was almost unanimous in its view that “time is running out” and that any delay in adopting the package risked further aggravating the health crisis and opening a political crisis.
Hungary inflexible. For Hungary, the agreement reached on Rule of law conditionality “circumvents the treaties and is not in line with the conclusions of the European Council” of 21 July, stressed Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga. That is why Hungary claims it cannot support the package as it stands. “Let’s not be hypocrites. We all know what conditionality means in its current form (...). It is about causing pain to countries and Hungary has always been the main target of this proposal”, said the minister.
According to Ms Varga, this mechanism and the Commission’s “non-objective” report on the Rule of law “represent the means of sanctioning a country for ideological reasons. This mechanism is unfounded, the scope is too broad and the measures are arbitrary, all of which runs counter to the real requirements of the Rule of law”. “How can we be expected to support such a proposal?", she asked.
In conclusion, Hungary suggested: “Let us avoid the MFF package becoming hostage to attempts to circumvent the Treaty by creating an additional mechanism in parallel to the process foreseen in Article 7 of the Treaty”.
Polish Minister Konrad Szymański was apparently more conciliatory than the Hungarian minister, stating that a “very good agreement” had been reached on the MFF and the Recovery Plan.
He advocated a swift adoption of the package. “However, we are not there yet, we need a last effort”, Poland stressed.
This country recalled that the issue of conditionality was one of its sensitive points. “The problem is the lack of legal security and legal guarantees for countries”, explained Konrad Szymański. He regretted the lack of solutions on these points. “The July compromise is fragile”, the Polish minister hammered home.
A valid legal mechanism. France claimed, on the contrary, that the text on the conditionality mechanism for the protection of the budget “respects the conclusions of the European Council” and is “carefully drafted from a legal point of view”. For the French representative, it is essential to move forward. “If the stimulus funds are not available, then the health crisis could worsen”. Italy expressed its “frustration” after the blockage announced by Hungary and Poland. It pointed out a contradiction in this stalemate: “If all countries claim to respect the Rule of law, there is no reason to oppose this conditionality”. For Spain, whoever blocks the ratification process of this package will have to “take responsibility” for it in front of the other countries and all EU citizens. Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Ireland have insisted on the Rule of law mechanism. The Slovak Minister warned that “unravelling this package risks plunging us into a deep crisis”.
“It is regrettable that Member States could not give their green light to finalise the MFF and the Recovery Plan at Coreper”, said Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn. On the Rule of law mechanism, the Commissioner insisted that “we try to avoid any perception that we are working in an arbitrary manner”. “The Commission will ensure that the most objective criteria are applied, this is not an ideological issue”, the Commissioner assured.
Michael Roth, Germany’s Deputy Minister for European Affairs, said he hoped that the frank discussions held “will help the process of reflection that now lies ahead of us”. The German Presidency will make every effort to remove the blockages. The MFF and the Recovery Plan will benefit all Member States and the Rule of law is not an ideology, he concluded. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)