Von der Leyen, who initially took a more conciliatory position on the issue and sought an agreement, was eventually forced to give in to pressure from the two MEPs to make the payment dependent on the milestones the two nations reach in their discussions with the European Commission.
The fight between the two MEPs forced Von der Leyen to finally confront Poland and Hungary. The fact that the committee has recently tightened EU support for the two countries is, among other things, the effect of this duo’s persistence
Neukirch claims. Poland has been in a long-running dispute with the European Commission over judicial reforms that the commission says could limit the independence of the judiciary. Since Poland did not comply with the commission’s recommendations in this matter, the funds were blocked for the time being.
It is true that the Polish parliament recently passed a bill amending the current judicial legislation in line with the EU’s demands – which would lift the blocking of funding – but Polish President Andrzej Duda sent it to the Polish Constitutional Court for further review.
Commenting on Der Spiegel’s report, Grzegorz Puda, Poland’s minister responsible for financing and regional policy, said it was “no secret” that German MEPs were behind the suspension of post-epidemic aid in Poland “under the pretext of concern about the rule of law”. He added that the government continues to engage in dialogue with the European Commission on the matter.
