The European Union will implement its 25-member recovery plan if Poland and Hungary persist in refusing to validate this project as well as the multiannual budget project, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs warned on Sunday 6 December, Clément Beaune, in an interview with Sunday newspaper.
“The multi-year budget begins on 1er January. If Hungary and Poland still refuse to validate things as they stand, then a more radical solution will have to be found which consists in implementing the 25-member European recovery plan ”, he said. “It’s legally heavy but possible. Our position is clear: we will not sacrifice recovery or the rule of law. “
On November 16, Hungary and Poland vetoed the adoption of the European Union’s draft budget for the period 2021-2027 and of the recovery plan, which together represent € 1.8 trillion. European bodies which have linked access to European funds to respect for the rule of law.
If the Union were to advance to 25 instead of 27, Hungary and Poland would be heavily penalized, recalled Clément Beaune.
“Hungarians and Poles know this. This also applies to the financing of the cohesion funds intended for them. They could be reduced or slowed down until the multi-year budget is voted on. They would lose several billion euros. It is not a threat but the direct consequence of the absence of a new budget if they maintain their veto on the whole. “
Brexit: veto against the agreement if necessary
France will oppose its veto if an agreement were to be reached between European and British negotiators and it turned out not to be in accordance with its interests, added Clément Beaune. “In this test of sovereignty, the European Union must defend its own, its interests and its model. We will do it. If there is an agreement, we will evaluate the text, analyze it “, said the Secretary of State for European Affairs. “But, if the agreement was not good and not in accordance with our interests, and in particular for the fishermen, we, France, like each Member State, could veto it. “
Fishing, with the rules of fair competition, and the dispute settlement mechanism, is one of the main points of divergence that prevent the two camps from reaching an agreement within a month of the deadline of December 31.
“100% access to fishing quotas in the UK maritime zone, we know it’s over. But we need broad and sustainable access ”, said Clément Beaune. “The British cannot on the one hand want access to our entire single European market, and on the other, exclude fishing from it. “
According to the French Secretary of State, Paris’ position is not isolated and Europe is united in its demands on London and France feels supported by Germany and its leader Angela Merkel. “As for the Chancellor, she wants an agreement but also defends our level of requirement and knows the European market well enough to guess how the German economy would suffer from a bad agreement. In short, the British bet of a division of the Union has failed. “
