The European Union can leave Poland and Hungary without financial assistance in February, blocking subsidies from the budget and pay for recovery after a pandemic, Bloomberg writes. So the EU prepared to “punish” countries for non-compliance with democratic block standards.
Poland risks to lose more than 130 billion euros (149 billion dollars), and Hungary is more than 40 billion euros (45.6 billion dollars). The EU accused the government of states in the implementation of the unlawful reform of the judicial system, corruption and refusal to adhere to the rule of European law. The block is concerned that funds provided to countries can be used Warsaw and Budapest is not intended, and this threatens the financial interests of the EU.
EU received the right to suspend budget payments to countries that he consider “retreating from democracy” in 2021. The Bloomberg source said that the unit could take advantage of this mechanism towards Poland and Hungary in early February, as soon as the European Court confirms the legality of its application. According to Oxford Economics, if the EU ceases to supply cash to Poland until the end of 2023, Zloty may lose more than 12 percent in relation to the dollar, GDP growth will slow down by 1.4 percent, and total production losses up to 2026 will amount to 170 billion zlotys.
In the EU, they are not likely to be likely that the authorities of these countries will make concessions at the last minute and prevent the escalation of the conflict, the Bloomberg interlocutor told. Previously, the European Commission asked Poland and Hungary to cancel “controversial” reforms that deprive the judicial system of independence, and imposed several fines on these states. For example, Poland appointed a fine in the amount of one million euros per day due to failure to abolish the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court. However, the head of the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General of Poland Zbignev Zebro stated that Warsaw should not pay the fines appointed by the European Court of Justice.