On Thursday 12 November, the Committees of the European Parliament approved by 52 votes to 12, with no abstentions, the compromise text on the mechanism to protect the EU budget against breaches of the Rule of law in the Member States.
The Parliament’s Committees on Budgets and Budgetary Control backed the text in the evening after a vote.
Eider Gardiazabal Rubial (S&D) and Petri Sarvamaa (EPP) welcomed a “very good agreement” (see EUROPE 12596/2).
Unlike other MEPs, Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR, Poland), felt that this mechanism is akin to a “political baseball bat” to be used against certain countries. Tamás Deutsch (EPP, Hungary) will also reject the text on the table.
The agreement reached aims to suspend payments from the EU budget or the Recovery Plan to any Member State that does not respect the Rule of law.
The EU Council would have one month (two additional months in exceptional cases) to adopt, by qualified majority, the measures proposed by the European Commission.
Doubts on the EU Council. The EU’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) could decide on Monday 16 November on the text on ‘Rule of law conditionality’ (qualified majority required) and on the regulation on the 2021-2027 MFF (unanimity). The ‘own resources’ decision (unanimity) could also be submitted to the Member States for approval on Monday.
On Wednesday 11 November, Hungary maintained its threat not to approve the MFF because of the text on the Rule of law, which it does not like. Poland has also criticised this ‘Rule of law’ mechanism.
The ‘General Affairs’ Council will discuss the agreements on the MFF and ‘Rule of law conditionality’ on Tuesday 17 November.
Link to the text on the Rule of law: https://bit.ly/3eU0ZOw (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)