The Hungarian government could be “forced” to reject the next European Union budget and the bloc’s coronavirus recovery package if access to EU funding is “tied to political and ideological requirements”, Justice Minister Judit Varga told a press conference on Thursday.
Following an agreement between the EU presidency and the European Parliament on new conditions for payments to member states reached earlier in the day, Varga said that “in this situation we have no other choice… naturally we will go clear on to the end”.
Varga insisted that the so-called Frugal Four “led by the Dutch and the Swedes” were “deliberately creating a situation in which Hungary and Poland cannot but reject the package” so that they “don’t need to give [us] the money”.
She insisted that institutions of the EU must implement the European Council’s agreement reached in July, which made it clear that “payments must not be tied to ideological conditions”.
The European Parliament “had better focus on coronavirus prevention rather than engage in political blackmail,” she said.
featured image via Zsolt Szigetváry/MTI