Showdowns over the rule of law

"We are confident a solution can be found," a senior commission official said, adding that money from the recovery fund could start flowing in June, as originally planned.

The joint statement by Hungary and Poland said the currently-discussed rule-of-law conditionality should be reduced in scope to "the protection of the financial interests" of the EU.

Poland and Hungary should ask the EU's top court to assess linking EU funds to the respect of the rule of law instead of blocking the budget and recovery package, the EU Commission chief said, most MEPs backed her up.

As a German national, I see German history as a constant warning to defend the rule of law - and to be vigilant to detect even the slightest beginnings of its erosion.

The hard-left is often associated with the colours red for revolution, and black for anarcho-syndicalism. But the movement is more and more green these days too.

In this episode Daniel Ziblatt discusses the dilemmas facing Europe's modern-day conservative parties — including the German Christian Democratic Union and the European People's Party.