EU summit: Merkel in shortage - Greece and Cyprus want to confront Chancellor - Orban speaks out

The upcoming EU summit will be another test for the European Union.

The blocked budget and Brexit threaten to worsen the tense situation.

• Poland

  and

  Hungary

  block the budget in protest against the new

  rule of law

  mechanism

  .

• If no agreement is found, the

  EU

  will have to make do

  with the first

  emergency budget

  in 32 years

• Greece and Cyprus

  fear

  war with Turkey

  and have a clear concern for

  Chancellor Angela Merkel

  .

• This article is continuously updated

Update from December 10th, 12:36 p.m.:

The Hungarian Prime Minister

Viktor Orban

expects an agreement in the

EU budget

dispute

at the summit on Thursday.

"We are only a few centimeters away from a consensus," said Orban when he arrived at the conference venue in Brussels.

A good deal is near.

"We're fighting for unity," said

Orban

.

But it is also about "a victory of common sense".

The

states and people hard hit

by the

corona pandemic

need help.

“We have to behave sensibly,” added the right-wing conservative head of government.

Hungary, together with Poland,

blocked the

€

1.8 trillion budget package including

€ 750 billion in corona aid

.

The reason was their rejection of a new

rule of law clause

.

On Wednesday, the German EU Council Presidency negotiated a compromise with both states that is intended to lift the blockade.

All other EU states still have to agree to this.

EU summit: Merkel in shortage - Greece and Cyprus confront Chancellor with threat from Turkey

Update from December 9, 9:40 p.m.:

Greece and Cyprus

are

very worried

ahead of the

EU summit

.

Both countries announce

that they will confront

Chancellor Angela Merkel

.

They published a long

letter to the Chancellor

on Twitter

and made a clear request.

The

German submarine deliveries to Turkey

must be stopped, warn the Greek and Cypriot authorities.

They fear an

escalation of the territorial conflict

with the Turkish ruler.

They accuse

Erdogan of

illegally searching for natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey meanwhile describes the search as legitimate.

There were already

threats

of

war

from Turkey in

this regard in the summer

.

If the worst comes to the worst, at least no

German weapons

should be involved

, hope Greece and Cyprus.

EU summit: Two pressing problems threaten to plunge the EU into the next crisis

First report on December 9, 2:31 p.m .:

Brussels - The

EU summit of heads of state and government

on Thursday and Friday is eagerly awaited.

The focus of the summit of the 27 EU states is likely to be the

veto

of Poland and Hungary against the EU budget and the faltering

Brexit

negotiations

.

Other items on the agenda concern the current developments in the Corona crisis, climate change, security issues and possible sanctions against Turkey.

Corona aid: Poland and Hungary block budget and corona aid

For several weeks,

Poland

and

Hungary

have been

blocking

the budget and the planned corona aid.

In essence, both countries are concerned with preventing the payment of

EU funds

from being tied to the new

rule of law mechanism

.

With this new instrument it should be possible for the first time in the history of the

EU

to

sanction

countries that violate the democratic principles of the EU

.

For the first time, it is

now

possible for an EU

member

to cancel or reduce funds if, for example, the fundamental principles of the

rule of law have

been

violated

.

EU summit: Poland and Hungary fear sanctions

Over the past few months,

Poland

and

Hungary

have repeatedly been accused of violating democratic principles and

undermining

the

rule of law

in their countries.

For a long time Poland has been accused of unduly influencing the judiciary and criticized in Hungary for restricting media freedom.

The two countries therefore fear that they will be particularly affected by the new mechanism.

Although

proceedings against the violation of fundamental principles of the EU according to Article 7 have been

initiated

against

Warsaw

and

Budapest

, this process requires the unanimity of the

EU members

in order to

impose sanctions

on

a member state

.

Since Poland and Hungary can be expected to keep their backs free, there will be no sanctions for violations.

With the new mechanism, the Council of Ministers only needs the approval of at least 15 states, representing more than 65% of the EU population, in order to initiate

measures

.

Veto by Poland and Hungary could mean fatal consequences for many countries in the midst of the Corona crisis

If

Poland

and

Hungary

continue their blockade, this would have fatal consequences for the EU budget.

Because without approval, the

EU

would have to get by

with a much smaller

emergency budget

than the planned 1.1 trillion euros

from 2021

.

In addition, the two countries are blocking the € 750 billion

Corona aid package

.

Southern European countries in particular, such as Spain and Italy, which are sometimes struggling with an economic slump of 12.6% due to the Corona crisis, are dependent on payments from the Corona funds.

But Hungary and Poland are also dependent on the funds from the EU budget and Corona aid.

If no new budget is passed, the payments to the countries will be significantly lower and the Corona aid will initially be completely absent.

Shortly before the EU summit: possible agreement between the EU and Poland and Hungary

Before the

EU summit

, however, it was announced that the

EU is

about to reach a

compromise

in the negotiations with

Poland

and

Hungary

.

On Wednesday, the Polish Foreign Minister Jaoslaw Gowin announced that the differences of opinion with the other member states had "practically disappeared".

A compromise could have been agreed with the German EU Council Presidency, which could also be accepted by the other members.

So far, the federal government has not wanted to comment on these statements.

Brexit negotiations: European Union faces another fiasco

The stalling

Brexit

negotiations

are likely to

cause

another problem

.

European

State

Minister

Michael Roth (SPD)

lamented

last Tuesday

that there has been no substantial progress towards a future trade agreement for a long time

.

A meeting between EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday should bring some movement into the negotiations.

If an agreement is not reached by 2021, serious consequences for the economy can be expected.

The

transition

phase ends on December 31

, during which Great Britain is still subject to

EU rules

.

If no

trade agreement is then

established, higher tariffs and long waiting times at borders are feared.

(phf) dpa