23/09/2021 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission indicated, on Thursday 23 September, through one of its spokespersons, Balazs Ujvari, that before sending the first communications (notifications), the institution was waiting for the feedback from the Member States and the European Parliament to the guidelines accompanying the regulation establishing a link between the payment of funds and respect for the Rule of law. President Ursula von der Leyen had stressed, on 15 September in Strasbourg, that the first ‘written communications’ would be sent “in the coming weeks” to the Member States (see EUROPE 12791/6). “Since the regulation entered into force on 1 January 2021, work on the cases has been ongoing”, the Commission spokesperson also said, adding that consultations on the guidelines on the Rule of law regulation took place for 10 weeks over the summer. (LC)