On Tuesday, 24 August, the European Commission insisted once again that the regulation linking the payment of EU funds to the respect of the rule of law had indeed entered into force on 1 January 2021.
When asked by the press about the expiry of the deadlines set by the European Parliament to activate this regulation—which allows EU funds to be suspended—against Hungary and Poland, a Commission spokesman indicated that the European institution had responded the day before to European Parliament President David Sassoli’s letter dated 23 June.
In this letter, the president of the European Parliament warned that if the European Commission fails to respond within the time limits set out in the treaties, the European Parliament would bring an action before the EU Court of Justice (see EUROPE 12758/3).
Spokesperson Balazs Ujvari stated that the European Commission confirms that “there is no obligation or suspension with regard to the regulation’s application” in this letter of response.
The EU institution considers that it has met the regulation’s requirements. “Since 1 January, we have been working relentlessly on two fronts”, explained Mr Ujvari.
On one hand, “we have prepared some cases. It is a ‘last resort’ tool to ensure that the correct procedure has been set in motion so as to see the different cases before any procedures are activated”.
On the other hand, draft guidelines have been drawn up to implement the regulation. The European Parliament and Member States were consulted on these guidelines in mid-June. “We want to bring this consultation to a close in early autumn, which will pave the way for (the regulation’s) implementation as set out in the texts and as mentioned by the president and Commissioner Hahn on several occasions”, the spokesman added. Mr Ujvari also affirmed, “When everything is in place for us to be able to implement the regulation, we will not hesitate to do so”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)