Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday spoke out against a "dictate" from the European Union in a row over tying future EU funding to member states abiding by the rule of law. In retaliation, Poland and Hungary are blocking approval of the EU's budget and coronavirus recovery fund -- a 1.8-trillion-euro package. "There can be no introduction of any elements that are not written in the EU treaty," Duda said during a visit to Vilnius. "We disagree with the dictate... All states must have the same status, we need to speak about clear criteria states will be evaluated on," he added. Duda said making EU funds conditional on a judgment from Brussels on whether the spending is in line with EU law could lead to "hegemony" by stronger EU states over weaker ones. "The principles should be the same for everyone. They cannot be formulated in a way that gives space for actions that would violate another country's sovereignty or honour," he said. Diplomats this week have been scrambling to find an urgent solution to the deadlock ahead of the summit of EU leaders on Thursday. In Brussels on Tuesday, Poland's European Affairs Minister Konrad Szymanski struck a more conciliatory tone saying the EU needed to agree "a better compromise". "Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," he said, calling for "one more step to seal this deal". vab/dt/bp