EU’s €1.1 trillion budget at riskThe European Union’s budget for the next seven years and a funding plan for the recovery of a virus-ravaged economy face the risk of being vetoed by Hungary and Poland.
The EU has made funding to member states contingent on their adherence to rule of law, a proposal that has Budapest and Warsaw chary.
Leaders of the two countries want this link between access to the money and the rule of law removed and a stalemate would leave the 27-member bloc without a 1.1-trillion-euro budget for 2021-27 and a 750-billion-euro economic revival package.
Nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland have been sparring with European partners for years over a perceived erosion of democratic rights and standards there.