EU ministers mull whether to punish Hungary over rule of law

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union finance ministers are assessing whether to immediately punish Hungary by withholding billions of euros for its failure to implement solid rule-of-law reforms, or whether to grant Budapest more time to improve its democratic credentials. On top of that, the 27 ministers are also hoping to make progress on approving 18 billion euros in financial aid for Ukraine and a global minimum tax for multinational corporations. But because of Hungary’s ability to wield veto powers on such issues, everything has become linked in a massive package of political brinkmanship.