EU leaders to continue talks on budget with Hungary, Poland: Merkel

Reuters

Published Nov 19, 2020 03:27PM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - European Union leaders will continue to discuss the bloc's 1.8 trillion euro ($2.14 trillion) plan to recover from the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been vetoed by Poland and Hungary, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Hungary and Poland blocked the EU's 2021-2027 budget and recovery plan on Monday because access to the funds would be conditional upon respecting the rule of law.

"There is consensus on the EU budget, but not on the rule of law mechanism," Merkel told journalists after a meeting with EU leaders late on Thursday.