Are Poland and Hungary now looking for money?
New audit reports from the EU Commission leave little doubt that the first procedures to cut EU funds could begin soon.
Brussels - Countries like Hungary and Poland fear procedures to cut EU funds following the publication of a new audit report by the European Commission.
In the investigation presented on Tuesday into compliance with the rule of law, the two states were found to have deficits in the independence of the judiciary and in the fight against corruption.
With regard to Hungary, among other things, there is talk of inadequate independent control mechanisms and a lack of action against clientelism and nepotism.
On Poland, it said there are risks to the effectiveness of the fight against high-level corruption, including the risk of undue influence on law enforcement for political purposes.
"There are serious grounds for concern in a number of Member States," commented the Commission Vice-President in charge, Vera Jourova.
This is particularly the case with regard to the independence of the judiciary.
The findings are relevant because, as of this year, states have been able to cut EU funds for certain violations of the rule of law.
The prerequisite is that there is a risk of misuse of funds from the community budget due to these violations.
According to the report, this requirement could be met in Hungary and Poland because inadequate anti-corruption measures run the risk of EU funds being misappropriated.
The EU Commission said on Tuesday that a separate investigation was needed to initiate proceedings for funding cuts.
The report now presented on the rule of law in the EU could be a basis for this.
According to earlier information, the first proceedings are to be initiated this autumn.
For Hungary and Poland the sums could be substantial.
Poland recently received more than 12 billion euros per year from the regular EU budget.
In addition, around 23.9 billion euros in corona aid are currently calculated for the country.
Hungary recently received around 6 billion euros per year from the budget and can actually count on around 7.2 billion euros in corona aid.
MEPs called for quick action against Hungary and Poland on the basis of the report.
"If we want to prevent Hungary and Poland from developing further into autocracies, the EU Commission must immediately stop the disbursement of EU money to Warsaw and Budapest," commented Green politician Daniel Freund.
The Vice President of the EU Parliament, Katarina Barley (SPD), made a similar statement, but warned that cuts were made with a sense of proportion.
"It is important that these measures primarily affect the governments and not the population," she told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Tuesday).
Poland and Hungary are already defending themselves against the new EU instrument for funding cuts with a complaint to the European Court of Justice.
They assume that the so-called conditionality mechanism is incompatible with current EU law.
From the Polish point of view, only “objective and concrete conditions” may apply to the allocation of money from the EU budget.
The EU has no power to define the term "rule of law", it is said.
The allegations of deficits in the rule of law are also categorically rejected.
In contrast to Hungary and Poland, the Federal Republic of Germany does not have to fear any trouble because of deficits in the rule of law for the time being.
"The justice system continues to function efficiently," says the Germany chapter of the so-called rule of law TÜV.
A need for improvement is only seen in areas such as transparency.
For example, legal loopholes in the rules on party financing and excessive donation caps are criticized.
When it came to the submission of the audit report, the EU commissioner responsible for justice, Didier Reynders, said that ideally it would promote positive reforms in the rule of law, or at least encourage honest and open discussions.
He himself also discussed last year's report in 20 national parliaments, said the Belgian.
dpa