I've been nervously watching this from the sidelines, simply agreeing to provide financial aid to the hardest hit countries would be political suicide for any Dutch politician at this point, but...
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte led the thrifty camp of northern, wealthy states including Denmark, Austria, Finland and Sweden, facing off against Germany, France, the ailing southerners Italy and Spain, as well as Poland and eastern peers.
“If they want loans and even grants then I think it’s only logical that I can explain to people in the Netherlands...that in return those reforms have taken place,” Rutte said, in estimating chances for a deal at a modest fifty-fifty.
I've been nervously watching this from the sidelines, simply agreeing to provide financial aid to the hardest hit countries would be political suicide for any Dutch politician at this point, but I'm deeply worried this is creating more internal mistrust and damaging European relations.
Orban - who stands accused by critics of tightening the noose around media, academics and NGOs - threatened to veto the entire plan over a new mechanism envisaged to freeze out countries undercutting democratic standards.
This will probably destroy any chances of the EU actually forcing member-states to follow it's human rights obligations, leaving the door open for the Polish persecution of LGBT+ people to continue after the last election. I hate playing the cynic but we might be in for a rough times.
“The opinions on the size of the recovery fund are diametrically different,” Babis told reporters as the leaders took a break in their all-day talks. “We will see if we even get to some agreement today, I rather think that we will not.”
“So far I don’t have the feeling we are getting closer to an agreement, I rather have the opposite feeling.”
I've been nervously watching this from the sidelines, simply agreeing to provide financial aid to the hardest hit countries would be political suicide for any Dutch politician at this point, but I'm deeply worried this is creating more internal mistrust and damaging European relations.
This will probably destroy any chances of the EU actually forcing member-states to follow it's human rights obligations, leaving the door open for the Polish persecution of LGBT+ people to continue after the last election. I hate playing the cynic but we might be in for a rough times.