The European Parliament completed its first reading on Thursday 4 April on the proposal to protect the budget in the event of a general failure of the rule of law in a Member State. This proposal is part of the package of proposals on the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12174/1).
Parliament thus confirmed its position on this text, adopting the report by Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D, Spain) and Petri Sarvamaa (EPP, Finland).
In January, the deputies accepted Parliament's negotiating mandate. However, as the EU Council has not reached a general approach on the proposal for the protection of the budget in the event of a general failure of the rule of law, it will be up to the next Parliament to negotiate the final text.
Under the proposal, the Commission would be responsible for establishing “generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law” and deciding on the measures to be taken, which could include suspending EU budget payments or reducing pre-financing. The decision would only be implemented once approved by Parliament and the Council of the EU.
Once the Member State has remedied the deficits identified by the Commission, Parliament and the Council of the EU could unlock the funds.
To assist the Commission, a panel of independent experts would assess the situation in all Member States each year and summarise its conclusions.
Protection of final beneficiaries. Unless otherwise indicated, the government would still have to implement the respective EU programme and make payments to final beneficiaries (researchers, civil society organisations). The Commission would be responsible for ensuring that beneficiaries receive the due amounts.
The Commission would submit a proposal to Parliament and the Council of the EU to transfer an amount matching the value of the proposed measures to the budgetary reserve. The decision would take effect after four weeks, unless Parliament, acting by majority of votes cast, or the Council of the EU, acting by qualified majority, amended or rejected it. Once the Commission has established that the deficits have been eliminated, the locked amount would be unfrozen. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)