Poland, Hungary protest tying EU budget allocations to political conditions

Poland, similarly to Hungary, has come out against a fresh preliminary agreement between the German European Union presidency and the European Parliament on tying EU budget allocations to member states “to political and ideological criteria”, the foreign minister said on Friday.

Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook that he had discussed the matter with both his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau and Polish Minister of Labour, Development and Technology Jaroslaw Gowin by phone earlier in the day.

He said they were in agreement that the matter did not concern “the money of Brussels bureaucrats but funds generated by the work of the European people (including Poles and Hungarians)”.

Neither the Hungarian nor the Polish government can allow anyone in a case like this to tie the receipt of European funds to “subjective ideological conditions” or to “use the matter of EU money for political blackmail”, Szijjártó said.

He added that he and his Polish partners had assured each other that they would remain committed to their position, and would continue to support one another on the issue.

Not only do Hungary and Poland not accept but they firmly reject criticisms of the state of democracy in their respective countries, Szijjártó said, arguing that both the Hungarian and Polish governments had been given clear mandates by their electorates.

Source: MTI