Yesterday, Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign minister declared ‘victory’ in the ongoing spat with the EU over linking European Union funds to rule-of-law standards. Hungary and Poland had up to now been blocking the EUR1.8tn 2021-27 EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund due to both governments opposing a clause linking the release of funds to the standards. On a Facebook video, Szijjarto announced ‘We have just received news that access to EU funds due for Hungary cannot be linked to political or ideological conditions’ adding ‘We can declare victory. We have been successful because we have fought’.
Under the revised proposals, the regulations that make access to EU money conditional on obeying the rule of law would remain unchanged. However, Budapest and Warsaw would receive guarantees from EU leaders in an explanatory declaration that the regulation would be applied objectively and could be tested in the EU’s top court before application. In other words, a fudge.
Also, yesterday evening the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had dinner with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, along with the chief negotiators from both sides, Michel Barnier and Lord Frost, with the aim of breaking the Brexit trade talks deadlock. However, it seems little progress was made. Von der Leyen has said the two sides are still ‘far apart’, with a UK government spokesperson saying, ‘very large gaps remain’.
The pair did agree that by Sunday a firm decision should be taken about the future of the talks. However, reports this morning from the UK seem to indicate that this next deadline could again be kicked down the road. The UK’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, told the BBC that talks could continue on after Sunday, although he stressed it was ‘unlikely unless there was movement on the so-called level-playing field and fishing. ‘You need some point of finality on negotiations to give a very clear line of sight to businesses’ he said. "It is unlikely, but I can’t rule anything out. We know with the EU that negotiations go to the wire, but we are rapidly approaching the point where we need finality’.