Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 16 November, Hungary and Poland blocked the adoption by the European Union of a package of decisions on the budget and measures to restore the EU economy in the amount of 1.82 trillion euros.

Seven-year EU budget for the period 2021-2027 in the amount of 1.074 trillion euros, as well as the EU Recovery Fund in the amount of 750 billion euros were previously agreed at the summit of leaders of the countries in July this year.

1. The main reasons that Hungary and Poland vetoed the package of financial measures was the inclusion in the text of the document of the possibility of imposing sanctions and refusal to allocate funds from the EU fund in the event that member countries did not comply with the rule of law.

From the point of view of the two countries: a) there are no clear criteria for the concept of “violation of the rule of law”, which makes it possible to interpret it broadly; b) the country’s right to conduct an independent domestic policy is violated, which is equated to "political and institutional enslavement."

Earlier, the European Parliament obliged to link the allocation of funds from the EU budget with the observance of the principle of the rule of law, which makes it possible to impose sanctions against countries that violate “common European values”, such as the independence of judges, respect for the rights of members of the LGBT community, the independence of the media, the right of women to abortion, etc.

2. As a result of the demarche of Hungary and Poland, the situation has become uncertain, which threatens to delay the adoption of the EU’s long-term budget and aid package to combat the consequences of the pandemic.

The package of measures must be unanimously approved by the leaders of states, adopted by the European Parliament and the parliaments of the member states. At the same time, there is no solution acceptable to all interested parties (the European Parliament plus a number of Nordic countries against Hungary and Poland).

In general, Hungary and Poland were accused of “misunderstanding the urgency” of the issue and delaying the adoption of the EU financial package, which will affect all EU members. Some politicians describe the current situation as the beginning of an “institutional crisis in the community,” meaning the lack of understanding of what further steps can be taken in conditions of the opposite positions of the parties involved in the conflict. If the parties do not find a common solution, then from 1 January 2021, the EU will operate without an approved budget. In addition, countries will not be able to use the funds from the Recovery Fund as part of the response to the pandemic.