Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 November 2020
2. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the actions he has taken following Poland and Hungary’s veto of the EU budget over the new rules linking funding to the rule of law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38181/20]
View answerIn the context of the importance of the European Union recovery fund, what action is the Minister for Foreign Affairs taking following the veto by Poland and Hungary of the EU budget, and the new rules linking funding to the rule of law?
This is a very relevant question given the broader multi-annual financial framework, MFF, considerations generally, and the fact that very significant funds could be held up, which Ireland may well need to access, in particular in the context of the Brexit adjustment fund.
As the Deputy will be aware, agreement was reached in the European Parliament on 5 November for a general scheme of conditionality for the protection of the EU's budget. This follows the July European Council conclusions on the MFF-Next Generation EU package, which stated that a regime of conditionality to protect the budget and Next Generation EU will be introduced. The Presidency tabled a compromise proposal for a regulation in September, which led to difficult discussions since, while a number of member states strongly support the use of protective measures, others oppose such measures or want to limit them to very specific breaches as they affect the EU budget.
The mechanism agreed with the European Parliament would require member states allocated funding from the EU's budget, including the recovery fund, to respect the rule of law, which is an essential precondition to comply with the principles of sound financial management enshrined in Article 317 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Approval of the own-resources decision as soon as possible is critical to allow the recovery fund to support member states, through grants and loans, to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and to recover from it. I regret that Hungary and Poland are not yet in a position to support the MFF agreement and own-resource decision due to their opposition to the rule of law mechanism. However, I am hopeful that a compromise solution can be found and it is my understanding that the German Presidency will continue to work towards a reasonable solution.
While member states are entitled to use their veto on such matters, this is not the spirit in which we would have hoped to see the matter approached. It is in the interests of all member states to agree the MFF-Next Generation EU package so that moneys from the recovery fund can start flowing as soon as possible in 2021 but it is also an expectation from Ireland and many other countries that the legitimately held concerns on the application of the rule of law across the European Union would be respected as well.
I am a little concerned about the talk of a compromise position because what was already agreed with the European Parliament was, in effect, a compromise position. It is a limited provision. It is important that we stand firm on the very limited provisions agreed given the attacks on press freedom, the independence of the judiciary, civil society organisations and the LGBT community, including through the establishment of so-called LGBT-free zones in Poland. Given the gravity of the situation and the importance of insisting that democratic and human rights are upheld in all parts of the European Union, we cannot countenance breaches of the rule of law anywhere within the EU. Instead of talking about a further compromise or diminution of the provision, does the Minister not agree that we need to stand our ground? There has been slippage for ten years and it is time for the European Union to stand its ground.
I do not disagree with the Deputy's concerns but we still have to find a way forward. That is the nature of politics. It is the responsibility of whoever holds the Presidency of the European Union to try to find a way forward. Respect for the rule of law is one of the EU values enshrined in the treaties, alongside respect for human dignity, equality and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Ireland is a firm supporter of these EU values. Hungarian Government reforms, mainly in the justice area, give rise to concerns about fundamental principles of the operation of the rule of law, including judicial independence, media freedom, academic freedom and the protection of civil society organisations and human rights defenders. There have been a number of hearings at the General Affairs Council over the past two years involving the Commission, Hungary and other member states. We have actively participated in these hearings and we will continue to do so, highlighting the importance we attach to respect for the rule of law.
Likewise, Polish Government reforms, mainly in the justice area, give rise to concerns around fundamental principles of the operation of the rule of law, including legal certainty, the separation of powers, shielding of the judiciary from undue influence from other state powers and security of judicial tenure. There is also concern about LGBTI issues that have legitimately been raised in this House.
I share the Deputy's concerns. The European Union is taking a stand on the issue. President von der Leyen has been very strong on it in a number of statements. The European Commission is taking this very seriously and member states, by and large, are supporting the Commission in that. However, we have two and possibly three member states supporting the Hungarian and Polish position, as Slovenia may well also support them.
I thank the Minister. We are well over time.
We need to find a way forward that respects the values of the EU but that also allows us to go ahead with the budget.
I agree with the Minister that we need to find a way forward on this. For a decade, we have seen the undermining of democratic and human rights in parts of the European Union. At the same time, we have seen billions of euro in European Union funding flowing into these countries. The measures proposed currently are very limited. I do not believe they go far enough. They are as much of a compromise as we could possibly countenance. In terms of a way forward, if the veto continues to be used to block the budget, will Ireland support the other 25 European Union countries going ahead with the transition fund and the EU budget rather than allowing a few countries that are not willing to sign up to a very basic set of rules in terms of the rule of law to block progress?
Ireland has welcomed the agreement reached on the rule of law conditionality mechanism, which has been an important issue for Ireland and for the wider MFF negotiations. We support the current text as the best possible compromise available. The agreement has a broader scope than the Presidency proposal and we have welcomed it as an improvement on the original text from 2018. Ireland has consistently supported the position of like-minded member states on the importance of introducing strong and effective rule of law conditionality through this type of mechanism. The agreement means there will be consequences for member states for breaches of the rule of law. It signals that rule of law issues are important for the EU.
That said, as I indicated at the outset, we must find a way forward on this. There are a number of issues that risk significant divisions within the European Union and this is one of them. Migration and migration law is another. One of the challenges for the European Union is to find a way of ensuring that we take seriously the values of the Union, which hold us together, and that there are consequences for countries that move away from that value system, at the same time as finding a way of moving the budget process forward because many countries, including Ireland, rely on the budget mechanism to function. I hope the German Presidency will be able to find a way forward that is acceptable to everybody.
