The European Parliament decided on Thursday, 17 January in Strasbourg to strengthen the proposal on the protection of the budget in the event of a general failure of the rule of law in a Member State. This proposal concerns the next EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027.
The report by Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D, Spain) and Petri Sarvamaa (EPP, Finland) was supported in plenary (397 votes in favour, 158 against and 69 abstentions) without changes (see EUROPE 12159). MEPs are now ready to start negotiations with the Council on the regulation.
No to rejection! The ELDD, ENL and 38 MEPs from several political groups (including Tamás Deutsch of Hungary and Daniel Buda of Romania, members of the EPP) have tabled amendments aimed at “rejecting” the Commission’s proposal. However, these amendments were rejected in plenary (147 votes for these amendments, 440 against and 36 amendments).
Under the proposal, the Commission would be responsible for establishing whether there is a “generalised failure in the rule of law” and deciding on the measures to be taken, which could include the suspension of payments to the EU budget or the reduction of pre-financing. The decision would only be implemented once it has been approved by Parliament and the Council. After the Member State has addressed the weaknesses identified by the Commission, Parliament and the Council could release the funds.
Extensive criteria. The Commission could establish that the rule of law is threatened if one or more of the following elements are compromised: – the proper functioning of the Member State authorities responsible for implementing the EU budget; – the proper functioning of the authorities responsible for financial control; – the proper functioning of investigations into fraud (including tax fraud), corruption and other violations having an impact on the implementation of the EU budget; – effective judicial control by independent courts; – recovery of unduly paid funds; – prevention and criminalisation of tax evasion and competition; – cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office and, where appropriate, with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
To assist the Commission, a group of independent experts (one expert appointed by the Parliament of each Member State and five experts appointed by the European Parliament) would assess the situation in all Member States each year and summarise its conclusions.
Protection of final beneficiaries. Depending on the extent of the failure, the Commission may decide: – suspension of commitments; – interruption of payment deadlines; – reduction of pre-financing; – suspension of payments.
Unless otherwise indicated, the government should continue to implement the EU programme concerned and make payments to final beneficiaries (researchers, civil society organisations). The Commission should ensure that beneficiaries receive the amounts.
The Commission would submit to Parliament and the Council a proposal to transfer to the budgetary reserve an amount corresponding to the value of the proposed measures. The decision would take effect after four weeks, unless Parliament, acting by a majority of the votes cast, or the Council, acting by a qualified majority, amended or rejected it. Once the Commission has established that the defaults have been eliminated, the amount in the reserve will be released. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)