BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2020) Eastern European countries on Sunday spoke against tying provision of financial assistance from the EU's COVID-19 recovery fund to a member state's compliance with rule of law criteria.
According to Belgium's LN24 channel, the contentious approach was voiced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during the ongoing summit In Brussels. In 2017 and 2018, the European Commission and the parliament notably triggered procedures against Poland and Hungary over a "clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values" referred to in Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union.
Speaking during the third day of the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blasted Rutte's offer to "financially punish" Budapest for what he deems to be non-compliance with European values. He noted that creating a new mechanism to deprive the country of aid would take a week of talks and suggested that the bloc act within the already launched procedure.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also rejected the initiative, saying that Warsaw does not want to be bound by obligations.
The EU's summit continued into an unplanned third day amid strong differences on a long-term budget and a recovery fund. The so-called Frugal Four group - comprised of the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Austria - oppose debt mutualization and believe that money should be issued in the form of loans rather than grants.
