European leaders have agreed in Brussels on the multi-year budget and the corona relief fund. This also means that the conflict with Hungary and Poland has been resolved. They had used their veto to get their way about the rule of law test they hated.
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Relief dripped from the tweet from Charles Michel, President of the European Council: “Now we can start rebuilding our economies.” At the beginning of the evening, there was a ‘yes’ from all European leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Polish colleague Mateusz Morawiecki. Policy can now finally be made with the EUR 1074 billion in the multi-year budget and the EUR 750 billion in the corona fund. This fund is intended for the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.
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Despite all the noise surrounding the (probably) last European summit of the year, the meeting of the assembled leaders began with a minute of silence. It was in memory of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the former president of France who died last week. He had an important voice in European unification.
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Quote Now we can start rebuilding our economies
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How sour Giscard d’Estaing would have thought that the run-up to this summit was overshadowed by a dark-black quarrel about money, but even more so about the decline of the rule of law in some EU Member States. Poland and Hungary refused to sign that staggering billions to the top, because they are angry that Member States that are not so close to the rule of law (for example Poland and Hungary) could be cut back on EU funds. Almost all other 25 member states were angry again, because the troublemakers were blocking things in an improper way.
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German compromise
The leaders started the summit with a compromise devised by Germany. The essence of this is that any sanction measure must first be submitted to the European Court of Justice. Prime Minister Mark Rutte was not convinced beforehand. In the Netherlands and like-minded countries there were fears that the rule of law rules would be delayed and that malicious parties could proceed until then. Rutte wanted to know from the European Commission whether the rule of law test will in any case apply to money that is paid out from 1 January. He has now received those guarantees, confirms an EU diplomat. The final text also clarifies that subsidies may only be cut if money from European taxpayers goes wrong due to the poor rule of law. It is also emphasized that the procedure is objective, impartial and treats all Member States equally.
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The prime minister also wanted the European Parliament to give its consent to the compromise. Over the course of the day, leaders from Parliament already made it known that it can carry their support, even if it will not be voted on until next week. That too would have been enough for Rutte.
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Procrastination
However, there was fierce criticism from Sophie in ‘t Veld (D66), a supporter of the rule of law test. She is not happy with what has been devised: “The immediate effect is procrastination. Enough delay for Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán to secure his re-election. ” Moreover, she would find it unacceptable for government leaders to instruct the European Commission. “Then the independence of the Commission will be over. If Von der Leyen allows this to happen, it will be over. We as a Parliament cannot accept that an undemocratic body that works with vetoes, the European Council, makes democratically adopted legislation crippled.
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The discussion about the budget and the vetoes of Poland and Hungary dominated an important part of the agenda. A senior EU diplomat said this week this week: “If there is no agreement on the budget, agreement on the climate will only become more difficult.” The leaders also have to agree on the climate goals for 2030. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions by 55 percent by that year.
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Another tricky point on the agenda: possible sanctions against Turkey. That country has a falling out with EU member state Cyprus, because it is drilling for oil and gas off its coast (in disputed waters). At the previous European summit, in October, leaders had assured Cyprus that Turkey would be punished if it didn’t stop drilling. Sanctions were then considered a step too far.
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