MEPs call on the Commission to act immediately

Following the Court of Justice ruling on the “rule of law conditionality” mechanism, MEPs demand that the Commission applies it and protects EU values.

“The rule of law is our treasure”, said Clément Beaune on behalf of the French Presidency of the Council. He welcomed the “necessary legal clarity” given today by the Court and said that the French Presidency now expects the Commission to implement it. The French Presidency is committed to mobilizing all the tools to protect the rule of law, he stressed.

Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that the Court’s ruling is now being analyzed by the Commission, which will swiftly finalize its guidelines on how to apply the regulation. He underlined that the mechanism is one of the tools in the EU’s rule of law protection toolbox and that it is key to choose the right tools to address specific problems. He reassured MEPs that the Commission was monitoring the situation across member states to identify any potential breaches to the rule of law and pointed out that it has already sent informal letters to two member states. Pointing to President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement, he said that when the conditions of the regulation have been fulfilled, the Commission will act with determination.

The budget conditionality regulation aims to protect EU funds from being misused by national governments that breach the rule of law. The regulation entered into force on January 1, 2021. So far, the Commission has not applied it.

On March 11, 2021, Poland and Hungary challenged the regulation in the EU Court of Justice. On February 16, 2022, the EU Court of Justice issued a ruling that actions by Hungary and Poland against the rules on conditionality, which protect the European Union’s budget, should be dismissed.

(WBJ)