Thread by @PawelZerka

I am afraid #RuleOfLaw could become a victim of the EU's #recoveryfund and #MFF negotiations.

Let me explain briefly using the data from @ecfr's new #EUCoalitionExplorer [thread, 1/7]

#RethinkEurope @MercatorDE
ecfr.eu/eucoalitionexp…

On the face of it, most EU members are in favour of pressing hard for the protection of #RuleOfLaw by the EU institutions, including through the development of new tools [2/7]

public.tableau.com/views/EUCoalit…

But #RuleOfLaw is 2nd order issue for most EU members. Only in FI, NL, SE, LU, ES, MT does it feature among TOP5 policy priorities, according to our survey of policy professionals. Not a single respondent in FR considers it an issue of high priority [3/7]

public.tableau.com/shared/ZGWGFQW…

Some (especially in the South) may be tempted to sacrifice the exhaustive #RuleOfLaw discussions if this allowed the EU members to agree on the #RecoveryFund and #MFF as soon as possible. See yesterday's meeting between PT's @antoniocostapm and HU's Victor #Orban [4/7]

Others (e.g. DE, FR, @vonderleyen) may be interested in keeping the temperature of the conflict with HU or PL low so that the EU can focus on bigger, global issues - as @PiotrBuras1 and I explained yesterday in this commentary 👇 [5/7] ecfr.eu/article/commen…

In the end, high priority of #RuleOfLaw for some EU members (and for #EuropeanParliament) may prove insufficient to tackle this issue as part of the current talks. EU's net payers have strong arguments, as does EP whose consent is needed. But even this may be too little [6/7 END]

Choosing an apparent pragmatism over a hard attachment to principle would be a very bad sign - to Polish citizens, to other Europeans, and to the rest of the world.

It could also backfire sooner rather than later [7/7 END]
#RuleOfLaw #recoveryfund