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Compromise on budget payments pushes back a clause that would make some EU funds conditional on rule-of-lawThe compromise between the EU and Hungary and Poland on establishing a link between budget payments and member states maintaining the rule of law – agreed on Thursday night – allows the bloc to move ahead with a new seven-year budget and coronavirus recovery fund, but is unlikely...

Democracy is seriously under threat in our countries. The EU must stand up to the bullying tactics of Orbán and MorawieckiAs European leaders gather in Brussels this week municipal buildings and monuments in Warsaw and Budapest have been lit up in blue. The illuminations, organised by campaign groups and the mayors of these cities, are meant as a powerful reminder of the dark path...

Qualified majority vote by states will be sufficient for removal of voting rightsBrussels will be able to block budget payments to rogue EU governments that undermine the rule of law or the independence of judges, under a hard-fought agreement between the European parliament and member states.In what was described as the “end of a painful phase” for the EU, a provisional deal has been...

Countries seek to hit back as EU debates harsher penalties for breaking bloc’s standardsHungary and Poland plan to set up their own “rule of law institute”, to hit back against criticism of declining democratic norms in the two countries, as well as point out flaws in the systems of their critics.It comes at a time when many in the EU would like harsher penalties...

In her first ‘state of union’ speech, the European commission president said Poland’s LGBT-free zones were ‘humanity-free zones’ that had no place in the EU in her strongest criticism yet of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party.It comes amid a dispute between the EU and Poland over the rule of law, since the country embarked on policies that weaken independent courts.Von der Leyen said...

In her first ‘state of union’ speech, European commission president delivers criticism of Polish ruling partyThe head of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said Poland’s “LGBT free zones” are “humanity-free zones” that have no place in the European Union in her strongest criticism yet of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party.In a wide-ranging 77-minute speech spanning from coronavirus to the climate...

Viktor Orbán is using the pandemic to seize more power. This backsliding could permanently change the face of the EUCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageTo say that Europe is united by its divisions is an exaggeration – but only a small one. Closing national borders during the pandemic may have been a rational health response, but the longer term political consequences become...

Poland opts out of 2050 net-zero emissions after hours of wrangling over timetables and moneyEuropean Union leaders have vowed to press on with a major economic plan to confront the climate emergency, despite Poland’s opt-out from a net-zero emissions target by 2050.The Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, told journalists he had secured an exemption for Poland on the 2050 target, which is meant to...

Magdalena Adamowicz draws sense of purpose from murder of husband Paweł, a critic of nationalismNewly elected MEP Magdalena Adamowicz is on a mission to craft new Europe-wide laws on hate speech, and she has more moral authority to make the demands than most.Her husband, Paweł Adamowicz, for more than two decades the mayor of the northern Polish city of Gdańsk, was stabbed while on...