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Rule of law mechanism: EU Parliament threatens to sue the Commission for inaction

2021-06-04T21:09:04.966Z


The European Parliament has had enough: The MPs now want to force the EU Commission to withdraw funding from constitutional offenders such as Poland and Hungary by filing a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice.


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EU Parliament President Sassoli

Photo: FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

Since January, the EU has had a sharp sword in its arsenal against autocrats in its own ranks: it can withdraw funding from countries whose governments are undermining the rule of law.

However, only the EU Commission can set the mechanism in motion - and it has so far hesitated, although the European Parliament gave it an ultimatum up to June 1 in March.

That has now passed without result. The leaders of the Christian and Social Democrats, the Greens, the Left and the Liberals therefore agreed on a resolution on Friday that is to be adopted in Strasbourg next Wednesday. According to a draft, Parliament's President David Sassoli is tasked with officially requesting the Commission within two weeks to immediately initiate legal proceedings in the "most obvious cases". The Commission then has two months to act. If it also lets this deadline pass, Parliament can file a complaint for failure to act with the ECJ within two more months - i.e. by October 23.

The resolution leaves open against which states the proceedings are to be opened first.

In talks with Parliament, according to those involved, the Commission has already mentioned a number of possible targets, including Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

MEPs at the end of their patience

The rule of law mechanism was added to the EU's multi-annual budget in December after dramatic negotiations.

It has been watered down considerably compared to the first drafts, but at least in theory it allows member states to withdraw funding if their governments systematically violate the rule of law and thus jeopardize the lawful use of EU budget funds.

The relevant regulation has been in force since January 1st - and in the opinion of many MPs, the Commission should have acted immediately against countries like Hungary and Poland before the rule of law there suffers further damage.

The commission, on the other hand, wants to draft additional guidelines - according to its own statements - to ensure that any punitive measures exist in court.

In addition, Hungary and Poland have appealed against the penal mechanism to the ECJ.

The Commission also wants to await the outcome of these proceedings.

That takes too long for critics in parliament.

Your argument: The regulation on the rule of law mechanism is clear enough, guidelines are not necessary.

It was uncertain to the last that Parliament would get serious and actually initiate the lawsuit for inaction after its ultimatum has expired. In particular, the Group of the European People's Party (EPP), which also includes the CDU and CSU, does not think much of the lawsuit. But it could not prevail against Social Democrats, Greens, Liberals and the left. In the end, the EPP agreed on the condition that Parliament's President Sassoli was given two weeks to adequately prepare the request to the Commission. "It is important to us that the whole thing is serious and not a symbolic politics that land you on your stomach," said Monika Hohlmeier (CSU), chairman of the budget control committee.

The EPP assumes that there will be no legal action anyway, as the Commission has already announced internally that it will initiate the first constitutional proceedings well before the end of October - which would make the action for failure to act obsolete.

The other groups, however, consider the threat of failure to act necessary to ensure that the Commission does not hesitate any longer.

"We don't want to hear any more excuses," says FDP politician Moritz Körner.

If necessary, the head of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen would have to explain to the court why Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Poland's strong man Jarosław Kaczyński "may undisturbed the rule of law in their countries".

Daniel Freund, MP for the Green Party, said: »In Poland and Hungary facts are created every day. It cannot be that Viktor Orbán will turn Hungary into a dictatorship without any sanction. "

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-06-04

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