Orbán (l), Morawiecki (c) and Dutch PM Mark Rutte (r) talk to German chancellor Angela Merkel at an earlier summit (Photo: Council of the European Union)

Orbán says rule-of-law deal 'centimetres' away

EU Political

Green Economy

by Eszter Zalan, Brussels,

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orbán said the agreement on linking EU funds to the respect for the rule of law is "centimetres" away after he travelled to Warsaw on Tuesday (8 December) for talks with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki.

The two countries have so far blocked the €1.8 trillion EU budget and Covid-19 recovery fund in their opposition to such rule-of-law conditionality.

"I think we have a good chance to close this issue this week at Thursday's EU summit. We...

Get EU news that matters

Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member

Already a member? Login here

EU Political Green Economy

Author Bio

Eszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.

Poland and Hungary say rule-of-law link needs treaty change

Warsaw and Budapest seek EU funds despite national veto

EU Commission mulls ways round Hungary-Poland block