EU Could Trigger New Rule-of-Law Budget Weapon Next Month
- Hungary’s Viktor Orban faces a general election on April 3
- The process could take as long as nine months to complete
Viktor Orban in Budapest, on Feb. 17.
Photographer: Akos Stiller/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The European Union could use its new budget powers to deny funds to countries accused of violating democratic standards in less than a month.
Once the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, triggers the so-called conditionality mechanism, it could then take as long as nine months for the procedure to run its course, according to a person familiar with the process.