Until a year ago, the taboo remained intact in Germany and the Netherlands. And then the pandemic came and changed the game. For the first time, Europeans will go into debt « ensemble » to revive the continent’s economy. The project, formalized this summer, has just overcome the last obstacle. “This summit was a test for Europe, declared Friday, December 11 Emmanuel Macron, and we passed this test because three important agreements were adopted. “
The first agreement, announced on Thursday evening, specifically covers on the recovery plan and the 2021-2027 EU budget. Poland and Hungary gave up their veto and accepted the compromise proposed by Germany. In principle, the expansion of European funds will be conditional on respect for the rule of law in the beneficiary countries. A new bulwark has been erected against the abuses underway in these two countries, in particular through systemic attacks on the independence of the judiciary. But the compromise did not make people happy.
Of the time given to Orban
In essence, the new mechanism will not come into effect immediately. We will have to wait (2022?) For the opinion that the European Court of Justice will deliver on the appeals, already announced, that Budapest and Warsaw will present. This deadline was judged severely yesterday by certain jurists, and by the Hungarian opposition. They believe that the time given to Orban will serve him to pursue his reforms which, for ten years, have moved his country away from democratic standards.
But the compromise also made waves in Warsaw. “The decision to accept this clause in the budget package without legally binding guarantees is a mistake”, estimated the Minister of Justice on Friday. Poland, to tell the truth, wanted above all to weigh in the negotiations on another chapter, that of the aid it will receive for its energy transition. This is the Council’s second agreement, the one on the climate.
The third point was on Turkey and its destabilizing action against Greece and Cyprus, but also in Libya. The Twenty-Seven overcame their differences to sanction actions “Illegal and aggressive” from Turkey to the Mediterranean. These will be individual sanctions against people involved in research activities and drilling in Cyprus waters. “They will be implemented in the coming weeks”, announced the French president, who recalled on Friday the threat posed by the introduction by Turkey of jihadist militias in Libya.
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