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In a video message on his Facebook page, Orban said everybody at the negotiations had "played their last card". "We achieved three things. We defended the European Treaties. We eliminated the danger of using fiscal instruments
to force decisions on Hungary that it does not want to take or accept, and we defended the Hungarian money that will support economic development in the coming years," he said.
Hungary is expected to receive €8bn non-refundable grants from the recovery fund in addition to the €10bn in loans. Before the deal, the Hungarian prime minister floated the idea that the country could do without these funds. In early November, Hungary’s state debt manager unexpectedly tapped the bond market with a €2.5bn issue. Analysts said this was a "plan B" for Orban to allow Budapest to secure financing for future years should talks over the budget collapse.
Although Hungary’s illiberal leader
has sought to avoid any reference to linking EU values to the payout of funds he agreed to the German proposal as
it provides concessions and many legal assurances.
Independent media also pointed out that Orban went against his own parliament. Before the July EU summit, lawmakers approved a resolution that
the government cannot approve any deal that links the EU’s financial resources to political or ideological conditions.
At the end of the budget debate, Orban’s critics in the EU can also communicate that the rule of law criteria was ultimately included in the package. One of them was Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who
The scope of the mechanism has also been limited: in essence, it will only apply to fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest affecting EU money and
not to perceived rule of law breaches in general.
This means that under the agreement the government will not face tighter
“Governments in both countries have long been at odds with the EU for attacks on their judiciaries and undermining the independence of the media”
proposed strict conditions for the approval of the €750bn economic recovery fund during the July summit. Rutte did not raise objections to the deal on Thursday, according to sources.
Under the compromise agreement the rule of law mechanism will not be used until Hungary and Poland have the chance to challenge its legality in the EU's top court and get a verdict. This concession to Budapest and Warsaw means that the implementation of the mechanism will be delayed by years. The text also stipulates that the mechanism only applies to the 2021-2027 EU budget and recovery fund.
scrutiny over the use of funds before the 2022 parliamentary elections.
Critics of the deal say that the EU has let Hungary and Poland off the hook by delaying the legal enforcement
of any possible misuse of EU funds.
"The European Council will strive to formulate a common position" should a country facing penalties request
a discussion of its case, according to the text in the agreement. Hungary and Poland requested that sanctions at the European Council were made with a unanimous vote but this was rejected.
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