Hungary rejects tying EU funding to rule of law - justice minister

Hungary will resist any effort by the European Commission to tie European Union funding to observance of the rule of law, the justice minister has said. The EU already has the tools it needs to safeguard the rule of law and the distribution of EU funding, Judit Varga told Reuters in an interview. "We don't have to (re)invent the wheel," the minister said. Varga said the definition of "generalised deficiency" regarding the rule of law in the EU's 2021-27 draft budget was too vague. She said her goal was to "completely drop" this proposal, pointing out that there was a "package principle" when adopting the draft budget. "Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. And this is a red line," she said.