The European Union is looking for a way to lift the veto of Hungary and Poland on the budget of the 27-member bloc, while maintaining the rule of law mechanism, which conditions access to budget funds, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

Warsaw and Budapest, which are under EU scrutiny for allegedly undermining the independence of the judiciary and the media, have vetoed the EU budget and the Reconstruction Fund because they oppose making the funds conditional on respect for the rule of law.

Speaking in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, Merkel also said that the Covid-19 pandemic disturbs the balance of the world economy, with many countries suffering economic downturns.

She assessed that those economies that managed to control the pandemic proved to be the most resilient.

Bulgaria’s veto on Macedonia was not mentioned in the speech of the German Chancellor at all.