Apart from the hostile reactions of the Hungarian and Polish governments, the European Union institutions and many Member States welcomed, on Wednesday 16 February, the Court of Justice of the EU’s judgment validating the Regulation (2020/2092) establishing a conditionality regime for the protection of the EU budget in the event of a breach of the Rule of law (see EUROPE 12892/1).
Welcoming the judgments, the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said that her services will “now analyse carefully the reasoning of the judgments and their possible impact on the further steps we will take under the Regulation”. “In the following weeks”, the Commission will adopt “guidelines providing further clarity about how we apply the mechanism in practice”, she added.
In June 2021, the Commission had submitted draft guidelines to the Member States for consultation. It wants to see whether this first draft should be revised in the light of European case law.
Accused by MEPs of slowing down the process, the Commission has assured that it is monitoring compliance with the Rule of law and fundamental values in all Member States since the Regulation came into force in early 2021. “We are assessing in depth certain cases”, stressed Ms von der Leyen, promising to act “with determination” as soon as the conditions of the Regulation are met.
In November, the Commission had sent two letters of information to Hungary, concerning problems with public procurement, conflicts of interest and corruption, and to Poland, this time concerning problems with the lack of independence of the Polish judiciary and the undermining of the primacy of the European law (see EUROPE 12837/14).
The issues raised are similar to those raised by the Commission in the negotiations on the Hungarian and Polish recovery plans, the approval of which is still blocked, although the Commission promises that the processes are separate.
The two letters do not constitute the opening of formal proceedings, as the Commission has agreed to wait until the Court of Justice has ruled on the Hungarian and Polish appeals, in accordance with an agreement of the EU27.
The European Parliament, which brought a case against the Commission for procrastination in implementing the ‘Rule of law conditionality’ Regulation, debated the Court’s judgments on Wednesday afternoon (see EUROPE 12892/3) and is keeping up the pressure. Its President, Roberta Metsola, said that the Commission should implement the mechanism “quickly”.
Budapest and Warsaw denounce an attack on their sovereignty
Hungary and Poland denounced this as an attack on national sovereignty. On the Hungarian side, Justice Minister Judit Varga called the decisions “an example of how Brussels is abusing its power”. According to her, “the European Court of Justice made a political decision because of our upcoming referendum on child protection”.
This law, which stigmatises LGBTIQ+ people, is subject to an infringement procedure (see EUROPE 12845/31).
It remains to be seen whether the Commission will issue its guidelines on the application of the ‘Rule of law conditionality’ Regulation and whether it will take a further step against Hungary before the parliamentary elections on 3 April. Hungarian opposition candidate Péter Márki-Zay welcomed the Court of Justice’s judgement saying that the EU should “no longer give its money to thieves”.
On the Polish side, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that bureaucratic centralisation in Europe was “a dangerous process”. Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta denounced “an attack on the sovereignty” of his country and called on his compatriots to stand up against a “ blackmail” aimed at depriving Poles of the right to decide their future.
The ‘Rule of Law conditionality’ Regulation potentially covers all funds from the EU budget 2021-2027 as well as the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
In addition to the Franco-German satisfaction, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described the judgment as an “important step” in validating the possibility of depriving a country of European funds if it does not respect the Rule of law. “The Court refers to European values in a broad sense, which is of particular importance for our country. It is about our core values such as freedom, democracy, but also gender equality and the rights of LGBTI+ people”, he added. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion, with Lionel Changeur)