EU Member States will vote on 12 October on whether to extend by 2 months the deadline for voting on the proposal to suspend €7.5 billion in EU funds for Hungary, due to the violation of the rule of law in the country.
On Wednesday 5 October the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) discussed the proposal to impose financial sanctions on Hungary under the ‘rule of law conditionality’ regulation (see EUROPE 13035/1).
The Czech Presidency of the EU Council has reportedly asked delegations not to enter into a discussion on the substance of the proposal, but rather to indicate whether they can support an extension of the deadline (for voting on the proposal by qualified majority) until 19 December.
A qualified majority for such an extension until 19 December is likely within reach, according to an EU source.
Therefore, the Czech Presidency is expected to submit the formal request for an extension of the deadline at the Coreper meeting on 12 October as an item ‘without debate’. If it is given the green light, the EU Council could formally endorse the extension the following day. The current deadline is 1 month after the presentation of the Commission’s proposal, i.e. 19 October.
The Hungarian delegation reportedly stressed that it was cooperating closely with the Commission on implementing the planned remedial action. These 17 measures should put an end to the risk to the EU budget, according to Hungary.
At Coreper, several delegations, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, were reportedly concerned about the risks to the EU budget.
The regulation provides that in exceptional circumstances, the time limit for the Council to adopt its decision may be extended by a further 2 months. “The Council will respect the deadlines set out in the regulation”, assured the Czech minister for European affairs, Mikuláš Bek, on Tuesday 4 October. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)