Most MEPs condemned the Polish and Hungarian vetoes on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the EU Economic Recovery Plan at the plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday 25 November, while affirming their refusal to review the agreement on the mechanism linking the disbursement of funds to respect for the Rule of law.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, recalled, during a debate in the run-up to the European Council of 10 and 11 December, that two Member States expressed doubts about the package (MFF, Recovery Plan, Rule of law mechanism). “The best way would be to dispel those doubts”. She explained that the new conditionality mechanism concerns “violations of the Rule of law that endanger the European budget. It is appropriate, proportionate and also necessary. It is hard to imagine that anyone in Europe could be against it”.
EU Court of Justice. Ms von der Leyen clarified that a country can go to the European Court of Justice to verify compliance of the rules. “But we must not put millions of Europeans who are urgently waiting for our help at risk”, she added.
Do not give in to blackmail. For Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) the Hungarian and Polish veto is irresponsible. He refuted the argument that the mechanism would not respect the Lisbon Treaty. “The European Parliament is not going to back down a millimetre, this mechanism is indispensable”, he concluded.
Iratxe García (S&D, Spain) also said she refused to amend even a comma in the agreement between EU institutions on this legislative instrument linking the budget to respect for the Rule of law. This is not the time to choose between money and the Rule of law, she said. She called on the EPP, which has parties in its ranks that are blocking the agreement, to be “courageous and defend the Rule of law”.
“Europe is being held hostage and the two States that are doing this come from a region that has been hard hit by the communist experience”, said Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe, Romania). “Accusing Europe of being Soviet is really ridiculous, even more so when you act like a despot and stand in line to get the first box of vaccine from Putin”, he said. The European budget is protected against fraud, it must also be protected against corruption, in a neutral and impartial way, said Mr Cioloș.
“Polish and Hungarian citizens will have to foot the bill”, protested Ska Keller (Greens/EFA, Germany). However, the MFF is essential to make the shift to the green transition.
Martin Schirdewan (GUE/NGL, Germany), for his part, said that the small dictator Viktor Orbán should be excluded.
A punitive political mechanism. On the contrary, Marco Zanni (ID, Italy) considered that Poland and Hungary were right to use their right of veto. “I am surprised that you are surprised at this veto”, Mr Zanni said. He criticised Parliament for deciding to go ahead with a punitive political mechanism that has nothing to do with the Rule of law.
Beata Szydło (ECR, Poland) criticised the EU for wanting to impose principles that are not enshrined in the treaties. In her view, the Rule of law is doing very well in Poland. “We cannot arbitrarily impose the will of the majority on a minority on the grounds that the majority believes that what is good for them is also good for the EU as a whole”, she hammered home. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)