There are no open political questions in the negotiations between Hungary and the Commission, says János Bóka.Continue reading
Two German MEPs played a key role in the European Commission withholding EU Covid recovery funds from Hungary and Poland, according to Der Spiegel.
Ralf Neukirch, the German weekly’s Berlin correspondent, explained how Daniel Freund (Greens) and liberal Moritz Körner put pressure on the European Commission to take tough action against Poland and Hungary for alleged violations of the rule of law, while the EU executive and some EU parliamentary parties were willing to be more lenient on the issue.
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, who initially took a more conciliatory stance on the issue and sought a deal, was eventually forced to bow to pressure from the two MEPs
to make the payment conditional on the two nations reaching milestones in their disputes with the European Commission.
Hungary still does not have access to a significant share of the funds it is entitled to, and Der Spiegel‘s author blames this partly on pressure from German MEPs. The unusual alliance also benefits the two personally, Neukirch notes, referring to the fact that the green and the liberal politician seek to score political points. One quick look at Daniel Freund’s Twitter profile already reveals that he is heavily invested in attacking the Hungarian government.
Commenting on Der Spiegel‘s report, Grzegorz Puda, Poland’s minister for finance and regional policy, said it was “no secret” that German MEPs were behind the cut-off of post-epidemic aid to Poland “under the pretext of concerns about the rule of law.” He added that the government would continue its dialogue with the European Commission.
Nie jest tajemnicą, że blokowanie #FunduszeUE dla (pretekst praworządność) jest wymuszane na #KE przez europosłów. W kuluarach mówi się już wprost o politycznym interesie działań przeciwko . Mimo to prowadzimy normalny dialog z KE licząc na praworządność w jej szeregach.
— Grzegorz Puda (@GrzegorzPuda) March 26, 2023
Featured photo via the European Parliament