The Czech Minister for European Affairs, Mikuláš Bek, said, on Wednesday 21 September, that the position of Member States regarding possible financial penalties for Hungary under the ‘Rule of Law’ regulation procedure “will depend to a large extent” on how Budapest implements the measures announced to protect the financial interests of the European Union and on “its support” for the EU’s position on the international stage.
“Any blockage” on the inclusion of personalities on the list of people sanctioned by the EU because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, any obstruction to the signing of the post-Cotonou agreement “has the tendency to strengthen the critical camp in the EU Council”, and Budapest’s behaviour towards Ukraine will be “crucial”, he warned, in front of some journalists in Brussels. “No one is naive in the EU Council”, he stressed.
Will the seventeen measures that Budapest has presented be sufficient for Hungary to avoid being sanctioned (see EUROPE 13024/9)? To this question, Mr Bek did not wish to make a prognosis due to lack of information, having only a simple two-page letter from the Hungarian authorities. Signals from the European Commission indicate that these measures would address problems identified on financial issues, he said.
According to the Minister, “there are good reasons to extend the deadline” for a decision in the EU Council, as the Member States want to see the measures announced put into practice before adopting their position. He described a Hungary “on the brink of a precipice”, forced to decide whether to take a step backwards to avoid financial penalties or to enter uncharted territory.
On issues not directly related to the protection of the EU’s financial interests, the Czech Presidency of the EU Council will organise a hearing with Hungary in “November” at the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council under the ‘Article 7 of the Treaty’ procedure on the respect of the Rule of law, as the Hungarian authorities have asked for a postponement of the hearing initially scheduled for October.
Asked about a possible validation of the Hungarian recovery plan by the Commission, Mr Bek did not comment. However, “it would be good if there is a consensual position” in the College of Commissioners on the Hungarian plan so as not to repeat the experience of the Polish recovery plan, he said.
In early June, when the Commission approved the Polish recovery plan, Vice-Presidents Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager voted against it, while Commissioners Věra Jourová, Ylva Johansson and Didier Reynders were absent from the deliberations of the College (see EUROPE 12963/3).
Poland. Asked about the measures Poland has taken as part of its national recovery plan, the minister said he hoped that the Polish authorities will be able to deliver on the commitments made so that Warsaw could receive the first tranche of financial assistance.
Regretting the frustration expressed in Warsaw this summer, he argued that the Czech Republic had been forced to amend its national legislation on conflict of interest and identification of final beneficiaries in order to receive Next Generation EU grants. “It was not easy”, the minister admitted.
The EU ‘General Affairs’ Council will hear Poland in October under the 'Article 7' procedure.
Future of Europe. Responding to a question from EUROPE, Mr Bek said that the EU General Affairs Council will try to clarify the EU Council’s position on the proposal for a revised EU electoral law submitted to it by the European Parliament “in October” (see EUROPE 12944/1). The report recommends, among other things, the creation of a European electoral constituency in which transnational lists can compete.
Noting that there were strong differences of opinion in favour and against the creation of an electoral district, the Czech minister said that some provisions had “no chance” of being adopted, such as holding European elections on the same day throughout the EU, because of the different traditions in the Member States.
On the question of using ‘passerelle’ clauses in the current treaties to move from unanimity to a qualified majority of Member States to take decisions, Mr Bek stressed the importance of “building trust” between capitals to take this step, including through more thorough “impact assessments” on the consequences of certain decisions, such as EU sanctions on a third country.
If we could do that, we could “slowly, step by step”, move forward on this issue, he added.
The Czech Presidency is in the process of identifying policy areas where such a development would be acceptable to the Member States (see EUROPE 12996/18).
Media Freedom Act. Finally, the minister claimed that he was “slightly disappointed” by theMedia Freedom Act that the Commission recently unveiled (see EUROPE 13023/1). He said that he would have liked to have seen a “stricter” regulation on transparency of ownership of media companies, but the Commission is simply proposing a recommendation on the matter. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)