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Polish, Hungarian PMs hold talks in Warsaw amid rule-of-law tensions

08.12.2020 17:58
Ahead of a key EU summit, the Polish and Hungarian prime ministers were holding talks in Warsaw on Tuesday evening about a proposal to link the bloc’s funds to the rule of law, a mechanism opposed by both their countries.
Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki.
Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

State news agency PAP reported that Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of Poland’s governing conservatives, would on Monday also meet Hungary’s Viktor Orban, as would the leaders of two smaller parties in the country’s ruling coalition.

The talks come ahead of a summit of European leaders taking place on Thursday and Friday at which the bloc’s 2021-2027 budget will be a key topic.

Warsaw and Budapest have both threatened to veto the bloc’s next long-term spending plan over a proposal to link access to EU funds with respect for the rule of law.

Both countries deny EU accusations of violating democratic principles and undermining the independence of their courts.

After holding talks with Orban in Budapest last month, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that the proposal to tie access to cash from Brussels with the rule of law could lead to the EU breaking up.

Morawiecki has told EU leaders his country opposes the use of “non-objective criteria” to decide how much funds member states receive from the bloc.

(pk)

Source: PAP