BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Germany, current president of the European Union, has proposed a scheme that links access to EU money, including the 750 billion euro recovery fund, to respecting the rule of law, a document seen by Reuters showed on Monday.

The proposal will underpin negotiations between the European Parliament and the 27 EU governments, which in July agreed to such a mechanism in principle but left out much detail to avoid a veto from Poland or Hungary, whose nationalist governments stand accused of flouting EU democratic norms.

Warsaw and Budapest are under EU investigation for undermining the independence of the judiciary, media and non-governmental organisations, and both could lose tens of billions of euros in funding if the rule of law mechanism is established.

In the recovery fund alone, excluding the linked long-term EU budget for 2021-27, Poland would be at risk of losing access to 23 billion euros ($26.84 billion) and Hungary to six billion.

“The rule of law requires that all public powers act within the constraints set out by law … under the control of independent and impartial courts,” reads the proposed draft regulation, which needs the approval of the European Parliament.

But the vast majority of EU lawmakers want the link between money and the rule of law to be stronger than agreed in July and the German proposal – sticking closely to the leaders’ summer agreement – is all but certain to disappoint the chamber.

Liberal German EU lawmaker Moritz Korner, who leads the chamber’s work on the matter, said Berlin was “cuddling” with eurosceptic, nationalist rulers in Warsaw and Budapest.

“Without an automatic sanction system, Germany’s proposal fails to defend the rule of law and the correctness of the EU budget spendings,” he told Reuters when asked about the scheme.

According to the German document, punishment for rule of law breaches would include suspending the flow of EU money to capitals seen as breaching democratic checks and balances. It would be decided by a majority vote of EU governments on a recommendation by the EU’s executive European Commission.

This could allow other governments to override opposition from Poland and Hungary.

But those seeking a stronger link argue that a majority of EU governments should be needed to decline, rather than endorse any recommendation by the Commission, to suspend funding for those flouting the rule of law.

That formula would make penalties more likely by leaving governments less room for political horse-trading.

“FINGER-WAGGING”

Some have cautioned, however, that seeking too ambitious a solution could backfire, given that Warsaw or Budapest might withdraw their support if the proposal is changed from what they signed up to in July after four days of tortuous talks.

“It is important that all sides stick to the delicate compromise reached. What didn’t find the support of the (leaders) at that time, will certainly not find it now,” said one official working on the matter.

Germany has already called on EU lawmakers to speed up work on approving the bloc’s next budget, the recovery fund and the related rule of law conditions so that money can start flowing, including to the ailing south of the EU, from 2021.

Asked about the Reuters story on Monday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland would stick to the July agreement.

“There is no consent in Poland to allow for arbitrary application of various clauses and finger-wagging only because someone doesn’t like our government,” he told reporters.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to veto a related decision if the July agreement on the rule of law mechanism is not honoured, which would derail the next EU budget and the recovery fun, together worth some 1.8 trillion euros.

($1 = 0.8568 euros)

The EU’s recovery package is the not-to-be-missed opportunity to lead us to a healthier future and should not extend a lifeline to the pollution that is making us sick, writes Peter van den Hazel.

Peter van den Hazel, medical doctor and co-founder, International Coordinator of International Network for Children’s Health, Environment and Safety (INCHES), is the President of HEAL (Health and the Environment Alliance).

It’s every doctor’s first prescription of choice: prevention before cure. Stop smoking, exercise more, eat a balanced diet. Take care of your body, and you will minimise the risks of illness and injury and boost your resilience to whatever ailment you cannot prevent.

The same applies to our planet. If we take care of our planet, our planet will take better care of us. It will reduce the risks from viruses and vector-borne diseases; from the fumes, chemicals and plastics that weaken our bodies; and from the malnutrition and heat stress intensified by climate change.

Investment in the health of our planet is itself a public health tool. It’s an investment in our own health and resilience to future shocks, be it pandemics, floods, wildfires or other catastrophes.

Just this month, a new report by the European Environment Agency underlined the urgency of tackling pollution and climate change in the interest of health, with the worrying number that poor quality environments contribute to one in eight, or 13%, of deaths in Europe.

In the next few months, the European Union has the power to either set us on a path towards that healthier and more resilient future or to turbo-boost polluting industries and infrastructure and exacerbate the global health crisis we find ourselves in.

Europe’s €1.8 trillion seven-year budget and its Next Generation EU recovery package, under negotiation over the next few months between the EU Council and the European Parliament, will set the contours of our long-term recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

EU countries and MEPs therefore have the opportunity — and the duty to the European people — to prioritise public health and rebuild an economy based on jobs and industries that support it.

Political leaders have already committed to zero pollution under the EU Green Deal. As such, the prescription from health professionals to leaders is very simple: put people’s health at the core of whatever you agree.

In doing so, create a list of polluting industries that should be explicitly excluded from future public spending. If a production or service makes us sicker and weaker, it should not benefit from taxpayers money.

Unfortunately, in the budget agreed in July, EU heads of state and government seemingly have not learned the lesson on greater health protection. Their agreement doesn’t even mention the word “pollution”, let alone talk about how to tackle its effects on health.

The European Council wants to reduce the EU4Health budget to a mere €1.7 billion, from the European Commission’s proposal of €9.4 billion, jeopardising the EU’s ability and ambition to strengthen healthcare systems and public health protection.

It has also cut the proposed budget for the Just Transition Fund by €30 billion – meaning less money for the much-needed transformation of regions that are still highly coal dependent towards a healthy energy future.

The European Parliament has made clear that it disapproves of the Council’s cuts, saying they will “undermine the foundations of a sustainable and resilient recovery.” Now it’s up to MEPs to fulfill their promise not to accept the final budget until it is improved.

Pollution from dominant industries such as chemicals and pesticides, petrol and diesel cars, coal-fired power generation and agricultural activities increase the risk of developing pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, heart disease and strokes, make those ailments more severe and affect those most vulnerable the worst — as 40 million health professionals pointed out in an open letter to G20 leaders in May.

From a health perspective, the only logical principle can be ensuring zero pollution and transforming any industry or service that does not adhere to this principle.

The World Health Organization, which also supported the open letter, has set out concrete steps that all governments should take to forge a healthy recovery.

They include protecting nature; investing in essential services including water, sanitation, clean energy and healthcare facilities; and an end to taxpayer-funded pollution, including subsidies for fossil fuel power and polluting modes of transport.

The European Union should take WHO’s recommendation to heart and consult with medical and scientific advisors, the wider health sector and civil society.

Healthcare professionals, scientists and academics are guiding us through this pandemic, and people are listening to them — they are wearing masks, working from home and refraining from hugging their friends and family, to save lives. People trust the experts, and our leaders must too.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union and Britain both said a post-Brexit deal was still some way off and differences persisted on Monday over putting in place their earlier divorce deal as they began a decisive week of talks in Brussels.

Britain left the EU last January and is locked in negotiations on a new trade deal from 2021, as well as on implementing the divorce, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, especially on the sensitive Irish border.

EU national leaders will assess the state of play at a summit next month, with a no-deal Brexit still possible.

Negotiations have stumbled over fisheries, fair competition and settling disputes, and Brexit descended into fresh chaos this month when London proposed draft laws that would undermine the earlier agreement.

“The UK’s positions are far apart from what the EU can accept, a deputy head of the bloc’s executive Commission, Maros Sefcovic, said on Monday after talks with Michael Gove, the minister handling the divorce deal.

“We maintain that the bill, if adopted in its current form, would constitute an extremely serious violation of … the Withdrawal Agreement and of international law,” he said, urging speedy progress before he meets Gove again in mid-October.

Gove said the clauses of the Internal Market Bill that undercut the Withdrawal Treaty would remain.

“We want to make sure that the Withdrawal Agreement is implemented in full,” Gove told reporters. “But those clauses are there, they’re in legislation … And those clauses will remain in that bill.”

TRADE TALKS

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said in London that Britain’s focus was on progress in trade talks.

“Although the last two weeks of informal talks have been relatively positive there remains much to be done,” he said.

“We simply want the standard free trade agreement … we continue to be asked to accept provisions that do not reflect the reality of our status as an independent country.”

Trade talks resume in Brussels on Tuesday. Lasting until Friday morning and also due to cover energy links and transport, they are the final round of negotiations scheduled so far.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday are expected to authorise more talks before their next summit on Oct. 15-16. They will then assess whether to try push a deal over the line or prepare for the most damaging Brexit at the end of the year.

The EU says negotiators must seal an agreement by the end of October or early November, to leave time for ratification by the European Parliament and some national parliaments in the EU so that it can take effect from 2021 when Britain’s standstill transition ends after Brexit.

Otherwise, the delicate peace on the island of Ireland as well as an estimated trillion euros worth of annual EU-UK trade would be at risk as the sides would fall back on general World Trade Organization rules that include tariffs and quotas.

The European Union and Britain started a decisive week of talks on Monday on a new trade deal and implementing their divorce agreement before national leaders assess progress or the risk of a no-deal split on Thursday and Friday.

                                                    <p class="no_name">British cabinet office minister <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_person=Michael+Gove">Michael Gove</a> is set to attend a meeting of the joint committee responsible for implementing the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_location=Northern+Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> protocol, which his government is threatening to renege on if it does not get its way in negotiations.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">The three sticking points in talks so far remain the same: fisheries; state aid rules; and governance or dispute resolution.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">An EU diplomat said however that “the mood music was a bit better” after Mr Gove expressed confidence about securing a trade deal.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">“It’s high time that negotiations move forward, we need to make progress on issues like the level playing field, fisheries and governance,” the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.</p>
                                                                                                        <aside class="related-articles--instream has-3"/><p class="no_name">“The UK still has to restore trust after the Internal Market Bill escalation.”</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Mr Gove meets a deputy head of the bloc’s executive Commission, Maros Sefcovic, on Monday in the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_organisation=Joint+Committee">Joint Committee</a> tasked with implementing the divorce treaty and now looking at the contentious new UK laws.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">“We are looking forward to continuing our discussions at the Joint Committee and working towards a satisfactory outcome for both sides,” a UK government spokeswoman said.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">Trade talks headed by the EU’s <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_person=Michel+Barnier">Michel Barnier</a> and the UK’s <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_person=David+Frost">David Frost</a> resume in <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_location=Brussels">Brussels</a> on Tuesday. Lasting until Friday morning and also due to cover energy cooperation and transport, they are the final round of negotiations scheduled so far.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday are expected to authorise more negotiations before their next summit on October 15th-16th.</p>
                                                    <p class="no_name">The EU says negotiators must seal a deal by the end of October or the first days of November at the latest, to leave enough time for ratification by the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&amp;tag_organisation=European+Parliament">European Parliament</a> and some national parliaments so a deal can take effect from 2021 when Britain’s post-<a href="/news/world/brexit">Brexit</a> transition ends. </p>

                                                    <p class="no_name">- Reuters</p>