A study commissioned by the European Parliament shows that in all Member States, the vast majority of citizens want the disbursement of EU funds to be conditional on compliance with the rule of law and democratic principles.
The survey showed that in the entire European Union as much as 77 percent of the respondents agree with the statement that EU funds should be dependent on the rule of law and respect for the rule of law, with 36 percent strongly agree, and 41 percent "rather right" answer. It is clear, however, that there is a certain difference in this respect between the countries that used to be on the western side of the Iron Curtain and those that were on its eastern side.
Cypriots support this solution the most – as much as 89 percent. The Luxembourgers are in second place, with 86 percent of their support. The third place is occupied by the Austrians – 83 percent of them are in favor of linking EU funds to the rule of law.
Of the post-communist countries, only Romanians (82 percent for conditionality) and Slovenes and Bulgarians (78 percent for conditionality) are above the EU average. On the other hand, other countries from the eastern part of the EU as well as France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium are below average.
The smallest number of supporters of linking EU funds with the rule of law is in the Czech Republic, although even there it was more than half of the respondents – a total of 59 percent. Poles, Hungarians, Slovaks, and Swedes found themselves ex aequo in the fourth place from the bottom with the result of 73 percent. In the case of Poland, opponents of tying EU funds to the rule of law are, according to the above study, amount to only 16 percent. This is slightly less than in Hungary, where they are 18 percent. Opinions on this matter did not have 12 percent of Poles and 10 percent of Hungarians.
(EURACTIV.pl)