The European Commission said on Tuesday 23 August that it was examining Hungary’s responses before taking the next steps under the regulation to suspend EU funds in case of violations of the rule of law (see EUROPE 12999/20).
“Hungary responded on time. We will look at Hungary’s responses and plan the next steps. We have 1 month for our in-depth analysis before determining the next steps”, said Balazs Ujvari, a Commission spokesman. He noted the principle of ‘good faith cooperation’, allowing exchanges between the Commission and Budapest regarding any additional information on the Hungarian authorities’ responses.
At the end of April, the EU institution initiated the procedure that could lead to the suspension of EU funds to Hungary (see EUROPE 12940/14).
If the Commission proposes measures to the EU Council, the latter has 1 month to adopt, by a qualified majority of Member States, a decision comprising the measures to protect the Union’s budget. The time limit for the adoption of the decision may be extended by a maximum of two additional months.
Mr Ujvari stressed that the process of adopting the Hungarian recovery plan under the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan and the procedure for the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation are “two separate elements”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)