EU envoys positive towards deal with Poland, Hungary on EU budget

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Ambassadors of European Union Union governments were positive on Wednesday in their first review of a deal with Poland and Hungary that would unblock a 1.8 trillion financial package for the EU, a senior EU diplomat said.

Poland and Hungary are under EU investigation for undermining the independence of courts, media and non-governmental organisations.

They have been blocking the passage of laws needed for the 1.1 trillion EU budget for 2021-2027 and the 750 billion euro recovery fund because with the regulation in place they risk losing access to the money.

But they backed down because blocking the EU budget would in the end hurt them the most, the recovery fund could be constructed without them and the rule of law regulation would have been passed without their agreement in any case.

“The first exchange among EU ambassadors was positive. At the same time there was a number of constructive questions,” the diplomat said.

“An in-depth analysis in EU capitals is now beginning and the final decision will be taken by the European Council,” the diplomat said, referring to the meeting of EU leaders on Thursday.

Under the deal, the EU’s rule of law regulation making access to EU money conditional on respecting the rue of law would remain unchanged, the diplomat said.

But Warsaw and Budapest would get assurances from EU leaders in an explanatory declaration that the regulation would be applied objectively and that it could be tried by the EU’s top court before it can be applied, the diplomat said.