President Andrzej Duda, during a visit to Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday, appealed for equality and justice in the way EU funds are awarded and administered. Both Poland and Hungary have vetoed the EU’s seven-year budget and coronavirus recovery fund after the EU passed a law that would link rule of law to EU funding, which poses a major threat to the conservative governments in Hungary and Poland.
Duda, who was visiting the country with his wife, made the remarks during a press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. Duda emphasized that he expects that all regulations which are adopted in the EU will respect EU treaties.
He also defended Poland’s use of the veto on the EU budget.
Duda felt that Poland’s position, which was articulated by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, would be understood within the European Council. He did not say whether Poland expected Lithuania to back its stance but stated that the conditions for receiving EU funds must be clear, just, and equal for everyone.
“They cannot be formulated in a way which gives room for over interpretation and actions which can be perceived as an attack of the sovereignty of other states or nations,” he emphasized. Andrzej Duda, Polish President: Making the payment of EU funds conditional on the rule of law could lead to hegemony of powerful states over those which do not have such influence in EU institutions. The Polish president argued that the position taken by Poland is not only in the interest of Poland, but also those of the smaller EU member states. Duda warned that “making the payment of EU funds conditional on the rule of law could lead to hegemony of powerful states over those which do not have such influence in EU institutions.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda acknowledged that the budget agreement agreed with the European Parliament had changed what had been agreed back in July.
He hoped that negotiations could prevent the use of the veto, as all would suffer if a settlement is not arrived at. The Lithuanian head of state believes that the multiannual financial settlement and the EU recovery fund are both beneficial for Poland and Lithuania.
“We are to receive considerably more resources than was the case in the last budget perspective and will have tools to combat the effects of the pandemic,” he concluded.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán outlined why Hungary will continue to veto the EU budget in a letter to European leaders on Monday.
Title image: Polish President Andrzej Duda with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius, photo: J. Szymczuk, Twitter, KPRP.
