International Relations
Interview
Can Donald Tusk Unlock Serbia’s EU Path? – INTERVIEW
23 October 2024
19 January 2022
Prominent German Green says that the EU should continue to withhold funds from the Member States who do not respect the Rule of Law. Here is the proper response.
Last summer, before the elections in Germany, you said that the conflict around rule of law would be one of the biggest challenges for the EU. You also said that the position of the German government would be crucial. Germany now has a government without CDU and we have already seen some signs and statements suggesting that it will be tougher on the issue of rule of law. Do you expect more pressure on the European Commission to take action against the governments in Poland and Hungary?
There has already been a change in attitude that also had an effect on the behaviour of the European Commission. For a long time, there were signals from Ursula von der Leyen and her immediate surroundings that they wanted to greenlight the recovery fund for Poland. I think the change in the German government and what they put into the coalition treaty, in a way halted those ideas.
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