Following the green light given by the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union on Thursday 10 December to the adoption of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 and the Economic Recovery Plan, the question now arises of the various stages preceding the implementation of the regulation to establish a link between the payment of European funds and respect for the rule of law (see EUROPE 12620/1, 12619/1).
The clarification, to be provided by the EU Court of Justice, on the legality of the text’s provisions on rule of law conditionality is welcomed by EU leaders.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, praised Europe’s “calm strength” on such complex issues. The fact that the EU finally has the financial capacity to deal with the climate and digital transition and to support businesses and citizens affected by the Covid-19 crisis is, in his view, a welcome surprise and a step forward.
For the French President, Emmanuel Macron, it had proved possible to adopt the Recovery Plan and the MFF “without giving up anything on respect for the rule of law”. “Our agreement will allow the full application of a mechanism that links the payment of European funds to respect for our values and the principles of common law”, he stressed.
Spain will be able to count on €140 billion under the Recovery Plan, the Spanish head of government said. For the Italian leader Giuseppe Conte, “We have €200 billion to spend, that is a big responsibility. It's an incredible effort on all levels”.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa stressed that the implementation of the recovery plans will be one of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency, which begins on 1 January. The MFF and the Recovery Plan “give Member States the means to overcome the economic and social crisis”, according to Mr Costa.
Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish Prime Minister, said that the agreement reached corresponds to “our previous conditions”. He expects the Commission to rapidly translate the summit conclusions into guidelines on the rule of law mechanism.
Poland and Hungary have confirmed that they will refer the matter to the Court for annulment of the regulation in question. They also consider that they are immune from possible sanctions leading to the suspension of EU funds for the duration of the annulment proceedings. In their view, the conclusions of the European Council have a higher legal value than the Regulation on the rule of law.
The other Member States are reassured by the retroactive nature of the ‘rule of law’ mechanism.
Alexander De Croo, the Belgian Prime Minister, is of the opinion that the Court of Justice “can really serve as a guide to ensure that the details of the mechanism” are not challengeable. “To avoid delays, it is possible to use the urgency procedure. We are reassured”, he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that the Member States had “made sure to distinguish between Article 7 of the Treaty and secondary legislation”.
“No case will slip through the net”, the Commission assures
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated that she was “convinced of the merits of this mechanism”. She acknowledged the differences of interpretation on certain provisions of the text, which should be “clarified”. On implementation, she recognised that it will take time to adopt the guidelines on this mechanism requested in the European Council conclusions.
“But when 1 January arrives, you can be sure that no case of infringement will fall through the cracks”, declared the Commission President.
She called for the budget package to be finalised as soon as possible with the help of the European Parliament. “Member States must ensure rapid ratification of the own resources decision” which will allow the Commission to borrow money for the Recovery Plan on the markets, Ms von der Leyen said.
The Recovery Plan must now be implemented “so that the first payments can be made as early as next spring, which will also allow each country to implement all of the proposed recovery plans at a national level”, said Mr Macron.
Following this, the Member States’ Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) launched the written procedures for the adoption of the texts on the MFF 2021-2027, the own resources decision, the rule of law mechanism and the EU Council position on the 2021 budget (see other news).
Link to the European Council conclusions: https://bit.ly/2JT7cPu (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur, with the editorial staff)