On the eve of the much-awaited verdict of the Court of Justice of the EU, on Tuesday 15 February in Strasbourg, MEPs called on the European Commission not to delay in launching proceedings against Poland and Hungary under the regulation that allows EU funds to be suspended when a country fails to respect the Rule of law (see EUROPE 12890/16).
The S&D group Chair, Spain’s Iratxe García, said she hoped that the Court’s ruling on the Hungarian and Polish request to annul the regulation in question “will be clear so that the Commission can fulfil its duty”. “It is essential that we activate this procedure”, continued the S&D group president, as “the credibility of the EU is at stake”, she said.
German Greens/EFA co-president Ska Keller said: “the Commission should have launched the Rule of law mechanism a long time ago. It is very important that the Commission takes its work seriously as guardian of the Treaty. We will remind the Commission of this and continue to press for it”.
Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) recalled that “we fought for a binding mechanism. You can only spend European taxpayers’ money if the Rule of law is respected”. “The Commission will have to implement the regulation”, Mr Weber said.
For Manon Aubry (The Left, France), the ruling should “confirm” the validity of the mechanism.
Stéphane Séjourné, president of the Renew Europe group, called for “letters of notification” to be launched as soon as possible, particularly with regard to Hungary. The Commission must take its responsibilities and move quickly, as the Court’s verdict should be favourable, he said.
The absence of the Commission President is not looked at favourably. “We have learned that Ursula von der Leyen will not be present at the debate and I hope that this is not a sign of lack of commitment on her part”, Iratxe García said. Ska Keller was also of the opinion that the President of the Commission should be present during the debate. “I think this is a missed opportunity”, she said.
Violations in Poland and Hungary. Ms García said that Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, had used all his power to “try to crush the opposition forces and it didn't work. In Poland, the judiciary and what remains of the independent media continue to be harassed”. Iratxe García also explained that the aim of this text was not to punish the people, the country or the projects, but to apply an instrument “so that governments do not act against the Rule of law. We defend the Hungarian and Polish people”.
Manon Aubry also denounced the attitude of Poland, “which is pretending to backtrack with a proposed law and at the same time suspending judges”.
The Renew Europe group brought up a different procedure. On Poland, “there is a draft law on justice issues, which is being legally analysed by the Commission services to see if this law is indeed preparing a return to normality on the independence of the judiciary and the reinstatement of judges”, said Mr Séjourné. However, he expressed “doubts” that the bill would be “sufficient to trigger a mechanism for a return to normalcy”.
Things are “locked” as far as Hungary is concerned and the mechanism must be triggered, according to the president of the Renew Europe group.
Philippe Lamberts, co-chair of the Greens/EFA group, called for an “action plan to improve the situation in Europe, not only in Poland and Hungary”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur, with the editorial staff)