The ministers of the member states still have to approve the freezing of EU money. Hungary can try to blackmail countries by stopping aid to Ukraine.
The European Union Commission made history on Wednesday of the show (you switch to another service) On the freezing of EU subsidies to Hungary.
The reason is the country’s violations of the rule of law. In the Commission’s opinion, there is a risk that the money paid by the EU would be misused in Hungary.
The Commission wants to withhold 7.5 billion euros from Hungary, which is about a third of Hungary’s cohesion money. The Cohesion Fund is intended for countries whose gross national income per inhabitant is less than 90 percent of the EU average.
In addition to this, the commission proposes a strict line for Hungary’s recovery plan. According to the proposal, Hungary could only receive its nearly six billion recovery funds if it makes the rule of law reforms required by the EU.
Among other things, Hungary should strengthen the independence of its country’s judiciary and the fight against corruption. Hungary is the only country that has not yet received money from the recovery instrument established due to the corona pandemic.
The Finnish meppi doesn’t believe in the failure of the show
Although the Commission’s proposal is historic, it may not go through as it is. The proposals will then go to the EU member states, which must approve them with a qualified majority.
Decisions can be made as early as next Tuesday at the ministerial meeting or in the following weeks at the latest.
The decision is hardly unanimous, as Hungary’s way of operating in the EU has often been controversial. Hungary can try to cause consequences if the EU countries want to freeze the country’s money.
One possible place for extortion is the planned 18 billion euro loan package for Ukraine, which the member states must approve unanimously.
MEP of the coalition Petri Sarvamaa has been the chief negotiator of the rule of law mechanism in the European Parliament and followed the Commission’s efforts from a close distance.
Sarvamaa tells STT that not many people initially believed that anything could come of the conditionality mechanism. The mechanism enables the freezing of money, as it gives the EU the right to cut off funding from member states that violate the rule of law.
However, Sarvamaa believes that it would be difficult to overturn the freezing of the money planned for Hungary after the Commission’s policy on Wednesday in the council made up of the ministers of the member countries in December.
– It remains to be seen what Finland’s line will be in the matter. My assessment is that there is not enough opposition to freezing Hungary’s EU funds among the member states, so the Council will follow the Commission’s line, says Sarvamaa in the press release.
What should the EU do with Hungary’s aid money? You can discuss the topic until Thursday at 11 p.m.