Tying receipt of funds to observance of EU values 'not a good idea', says minister

It is "not a good approach" to tie access to EU funds to respecting EU values, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said on Thursday, adding that rules in the EU should be clear and the same for all members. Asked by a Polish public radio broadcaster about the European Commission's idea to make access to EU funds dependent on the observance of EU values, the minister said that some EU members had failed to observe the budget deficit rules. "If this was interconnected, then those countries would also receive less money. I'm not sure whether that's a good idea," he argued.