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Politico (15 June 2026)

Gregorio SORGI

A majority of countries could withhold budget payments to national capitals that fail to comply with democratic norms. 

BRUSSELS — National capitals are set to gain the power to block payments from the EU’s €2 trillion budget to countries that fail to comply with democratic norms such as judicial and media freedoms.

European affairs ministers are set to approve the rules when they meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday, after the EU’s 27 ambassadors reached an agreement on Sunday to crack down on democratic backsliding by denying access to the EU's next seven-year budget from 2028, capitalizing on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's departure from public office.

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