Yesterday evening an agreement was reached concerning the EU budget. Despite the earlier threats from the Prime Ministers of Poland and Hungary, the two countries did not veto the budget. In the conclusions of the summit, representatives of the member states wrote that the sole report on violations of the rule of law won’t be enough to block EU funds.
“We expect the European Commission to translate the regulations written down in the conclusion into concrete laws, which it will be following. This is what we were after and to make a clear distinction between the article 7 and the budget.” stated Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
However, not all members of the United Right are happy with the compromise.
“(…) The decision to adopt the resolution in the budget pack without any legally binding security provisions is a mistake. We consequently and openly warned against such a decision since the July summit of the European Council. The board of United Poland will now convene to discuss the possible consequences of this outcome.” said Attorney General Zbigniew Ziobro.
The second major coalition partner of the ruling Law and Justice party is of another opinion…
“We are right on this. It is the shared stance of the Agreement and Law and Justice parties, we appeal to our partner, the United Poland party, to stand united with us on this. I believe that responsibility for Poland will prevail. Early elections would be catastrophic for our country.” commented Jarosław Gowin, the leader of the Agreement party.
Politicians of the Law and Justice party emphasise that despite the difference in opinions, the unified government is still possible.
“Chairman Kaczyński reminded two days ago that before the referendum in 2002, among the supporters, activists and members of the Law and Justice party, only 1/3 were Eurosceptic, while the rest voted for Poland joining the European Union. I take his words as a sign of a new formula of the United Right, a pluralistic form, where we have some different views on the EU, but are still united in the government.” stated senator of the Law and Justice party, Jan Maria Jackowski.
Poland will receive nearly 140 billion euro in EU donations and 34 billion in loans.