The eventual outcome has been that the European Commissioner for Budget, Johannes Hahn, and not President Ursula von der Leyen, will represent the European Commission in the plenary debate on Wednesday 16 February in Strasbourg on the consequences of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the validity of the regulation making the payment of EU funds conditional on respect for the rule of law (see EUROPE 12889/12).
The President’s schedule has changed due to various current events, said Commission Deputy Spokesperson Dana Spinant on Monday 14 February (see other news). “Commissioner Hahn will represent the President. He is the commissioner responsible for this mechanism, it is his file”, she summed up. She also stressed that the President was “very closely following the developments regarding the rule of law and the conditionality mechanism”.
On the guidelines to be adopted shortly to implement the regulation, the EU institution said it was waiting “to hear about this judgment on the legality of the mechanism”.
“Depending on the Court’s judgment, the mechanism may need to be adjusted. But I can tell you that the Commission will react as quickly as possible to implement the effects of this judgment”, assured Ms Spinant.
Ms von der Leyen will also react to the Court’s judgment.
The EU Court of Justice is expected, barring any surprises, to follow the opinion of the Advocate General, who in December dismissed the Polish and Hungarian appeals (see EUROPE 12845/1), confirming that the mechanism is compatible with the EU treaties. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)