Hungary and Poland stand a good chance of winning the EU budget debate on the rule of law for the payment of community funds if things move in the right direction in the coming days, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Warsaw on Tuesday evening after talks with his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morwiaczki.
In an interview with Polish commercial news television Polsat News, the prime minister said that the positions of Hungary and Poland, as well as the German EU presidency and the governments of several other member states, are now closer than they were a few weeks or days ago.
He stressed that “issues of the rule of law that have nothing to do with financial matters should be separated from budgetary matters”.
He added that a situation in which financial sanctions could be imposed, for example, because a member state does not follow the European approach to gender or migration issues, should be avoided. He also said that “the debate is not about financial resources”.
Orbán emphasized that there is an agreement between Budapest and Warsaw on all major issues, the interests of the two countries coincide, they consider it important to protect the provisions of the EU treaties, national interests and the financial resources of Hungary and Poland.
He considered that the two countries together were strong enough to protect their financial interests, saying there is “no need to worry, they [Hungary and Poland] won’t lose a single penny”.
Orbán also pointed out that maintaining a conflict situation and a budget veto is not good for Europe, nor is it in the interests of Hungary or Poland, so an agreement would be needed as soon as possible, which would benefit all parties.
“The debate is not about financial resources, it is only a secondary issue that we are fighting for is the protection of national sovereignty,” he said, adding that “V4, Hungary, Poland are the future of the EU.”
The meeting of the two prime ministers was held just two days ahead of the European Union’s Dec. 10-11 summit which will be the last chance this year to resolve the impasse.
Title image: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (L) and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieczki in Warsaw on November 30. (MTI/Zoltán Fischer)
