Hungary's Orban threatens to veto EU budget over rule of law conditions

RFI.fr ^ | 10/11/2020

[11th_VA]

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sent a letter to European Union leaders threatening to veto the bloc's long-term budget accord over a payment mechanism that requires countries to uphold EU democracy rules. The move could jeopardise the seven-year 1.1-trillion-euro budget as well as a €750-billion virus relief package.

Orban is unhappy about a deal reached last Thursday which would introduce a mechanism to make the delivery of budget money to EU countries conditional on their respect for EU values, including the independence of courts.

The provisional deal, agreed between Germany, which currently holds the bloc’s 6-month rotating presidency, and the European Parliament, was praised by several MEPs on Thursday...

On Sunday, the right-wing Hungarian news site mandiner.hu reported that Orban had sent a letter to EU bosses saying that “in the light of developments,” he would not be able to “provide the unanimity required for the package adopted in July,” suggesting that, in order to prevent the new mechanism being introduced, he intended to veto the entire upcoming budget of 1.1 trillion euros along with a 750 billion euro package to deal with the impact of Covid...

The apparent erosion of judicial independence in both Hungary and Poland has been a worry for MEPs and the idea of the new deal was to bring the two countries into line by allowing the suspension of budget money due to them.

If Orban goes ahead with his veto, then the 1.1 trillion euro EU long-term budget for the next 7 years cannot be unblocked; nor can the accompanying 750 billion euro Covid-19 relief package be released.

EU countries struggling to cope with the virus are particularly keen to access the money.

[11th_VA]

Nice ...

[Mr Radical]

Interesting, thanks for posting.
When “deals” and “mechanisms” are “agreed” by a central authority with the objective of overriding the judicial independence of member states, it’s central planning by an elite to circumvent the democratic process. A step on the road to dictatorship. Of course, both Hungary and Poland are only too familiar with the wiles of totalitarian regimes that were forced upon them.