Budapest and Warsaw Mayors Push for EU to Sidestep Recalcitrant Governments

Mayors of Pact of Free Cities: (from L to R) Zdenek Hrib, Rafal Trzaskowski and Gergely Karacsony. Photo: Trzaskowski Facebook page

The two liberal politicians, who established the Pact of Free Cities initiative with their Prague and Bratislava colleagues late last year, said they have sent a letter to European institutions signed by 250 regional and municipal leaders in which they made clear that the stance of their respective nationalist-populist governments was not in line with that of ordinary citizens.

"The governments of Hungary and Poland are at war with their allies, they are at war with the EU, and they are also at war with their own municipalities. The Hungarian government's strategy is clear: if it cannot convert public money to private money and channel it to its oligarchs, it is ready to give up those funds," Karacsony said.

Karacsony added that Poland and Hungary's blocking of the EU's next seven-year budget and associated recovery fund could mean the EU decides to put together a new coronavirus recovery fund without their support, meaning they would lose crucial funds. Therefore, the two politicians are asking the EU to come up with a funding scheme targeting municipalities, meaning citizens would not be unfairly penalized for the anti-European stance of their governments.

Trzaskowski called the Polish government "totally irresponsible" and "wrapped up in an internal struggle", meaning it lacks any clear negotiating strategy. He emphasised that if Poland and Hungary block the recovery fund, the whole of the EU would suffer the consequences, leaving member states with little choice but to establish a recovery fund as an intergovernmental initiative.

"How can you later compete with those who received the money? Is this...

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