A Rule of Law Dispute Threatens Europe’s Economic Recovery

An ongoing dispute over a 1.8 trillion euros ($2.1 trillion) EU spending package could jeopardize the bloc’s economic recovery. While there is still room for a compromise, any delays in the disbursement of these funds would be particularly damaging for southern European countries, which have experienced the deepest pandemic-related GDP contractions in 2020. On Nov. 16, Poland and Hungary vetoed the European Union’s 1.1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) 2021-2027 budget and a 750 billion euros ($890 billion) COVID-19 recovery fund because they include a mechanism to link the disbursement of money to upholding a strong rule of law. Warsaw and Budapest argue that this mechanism is political and will target them specifically. A Nov. 19 summit of EU leaders failed to reach an agreement to break the impasse....