Macron says EU states breaking rules should pay the consequences

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the European Union states that spend the bloc's finances but turn their backs on its principles should pay the price. “European countries that do not respect the rules should pay the full political consequences,” Macron said in an interview with a number of French newspapers. “There is a double betrayal. They decide to abandon EU principles, turn their back on Europe and have a cynical approach to the Union which gives them money, without respecting its values,” he added. He explained, however, that while there are tensions between some Western and Eastern member states because of their geopolitical backgrounds, there is no conflict. During his presidential campaign, earlier this year, he said that, if elected, he would urge the European Union to impose sanctions on Poland for violating democratic norms. In January last year, the Commission launched a rule-of-law probe into whether laws regarding appointing judges in Poland's top court, the Constitutional Tribunal were violating EU standards. It also launched legal procedures against Poland, Czechia and Hungary for refusing to take in asylum seekers from the Middle East.