Taking EU funds away from Central European member states will reinforce Chinese influence in the region.

The proposed EU budget for 2021-2027 will include changes in how EU funds are divided. This will most likely benefit southern member states at the expense of the Central European ones. In the ever ongoing debate about what good the EU is to Central Europe, many count the access to funding as the most convincing argument. However, as soon as the funding starts to dry out, the Central European countries will turn elsewhere for money – and China will answer their call.

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Photo: Lex Kravetski, Flickr.com, CC BY 2.0