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Bloomberg
Poland’s prime minister launched a broadside on the European Union’s push to link funding to democratic values, ratcheting up tension over his country’s decision to derail the bloc’s $2.2 trillion spending package with Hungary.
EU officials have given the two countries hours to offer a clear signal that they’ll lift their veto as early as Tuesday, according to people with knowledge of the talks. If not, they risk losing billions of euros in aid from the multi-year budget and virus rescue fund.
Led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who’s steering the bloc’s rotating presidency as her fourth and last term draws to a close, leaders are meeting at a summit on
Thursday and have threatened to move ahead with a
‘Plan B,’ sidelining Warsaw and Budapest.
But Poland’s government said it’s sticking with the agreement forged with Hungary to stymie the proposal to tie funds to democratic standards. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki railed against other members of the bloc that are trying to bring nations they deem as undermining the rule of law to heel.
“The crucial moment in which solidarity is important, the spirit of division has awakened in Europe,†Morawiecki said.