EP approves rule of law conditionality for access to EU funds

MEPs approved the regulation designed to protect EU funds from being misused by EU governments who bend the rule of law. Under the new regulation, EU budget payments can be withheld from countries in which established breaches of the rule of law compromise management of the EU funds. At the same time, the EU is ensuring that final beneficiaries do not end up paying the bill.

“We made it. It’s the law now. No one-sided declaration can change this fact. The conditionality regime will enable us to scrutinise dubious plans to apply EU funds against the EU's values,” Petri Sarvamaa, the co-rapporteur, said.

“As the Parliament, we ensured all the necessary points made it in the regulation and that the text stays intact. We expect the Commission, as the guardian of the treaties, to independently start implementing this regulation from January 1, 2021. This is also what Europeans are waiting for,” he added.

“The EU is not an à la carte establishment, where you can keep your rights but not meet your obligations. It’s a community based on common values that member states and citizens must uphold. The mechanism that links the EU budget to respect for the rule of law adopted today is a major achievement for the Parliament,” Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, the co-rapporteur, added.

In her opinion, the EP made sure that the budget sanctions under this regulation target offenders directly and not the final beneficiaries. Students, researchers, companies, and NGOs will not be affected.

(WBJ)