The German proposal related to the set of conditions tied to the new EU budget is unacceptable as it represents a unilateral amendment to the EU Treaties, Justice Minister Judit Varga wrote on her Facebook account on Tuesday.

“We cannot protect the rule of law by violating the most fundamental principles of the rule of law. This is not the rule of law, but blackmail pure and simple,” the Minister laid down.

The rule of law is a common value protected by Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union. Creating new rule of law mechanisms requires the unanimous decision of the Member States and the amendment of the Treaties. The July agreement of the heads of state and government decided on setting up a mechanism to protect the budget, not a rule of law mechanism.

Member States which are most in need must be given access to help as soon as possible. The proposal jeopardises swift and effective action by reopening issues that were already closed with the July agreement of heads of state and government. This is the goal of the “frugal” Member States which in actual fact never wanted to support the recovery of European economies, the Minister wrote.

“We support the strengthening of the protection of the EU budget. However, the German proposal is not fit for purpose. We must return to the July decision of the European Council, and conduct negotiations about a genuinely budgetary protection mechanism,” Ms. Varga’s Facebook post reads.

(Ministry of Justice/MTI)