Correspondent in Brussels
A historic decision that could rock the EU dangerously.
European justice gave the green light on Wednesday to an unprecedented mechanism now allowing the Commission to suspend the payment of European funds to member states which do not respect the common values of the EU and the rule of law.
This is a setback for Hungary and Poland, which had appealed against this mechanism.
It is all the more scathing that the judges of Luxembourg do not hesitate to teach these two countries a lesson.
Respect for the values of the EU, they underline,
“cannot be reduced to an obligation to which a candidate State is bound in view of joining the Union and from which it could free itself after its accession”
.
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Poland and Hungary suspended from European funds
Although it was a victory for Brussels, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was sober.
"Today's judgments confirm that we are on the right track
," she said, promising however to act with
"determination"
.
Unsurprisingly, Budapest and Warsaw have risen in the towers.
It is “
a political decision
”, castigated the Hungarian Minister of Justice, Judith Varga.
In his eyes, Brussels' turn of the screw would only be the consequence of the law adopted in the summer of 2021 in Hungary, which prohibits talking to people under 18 about sex change and homosexuality and which will give rise to to a referendum on 3 April next, the day of the national elections.
His Polish counterpart, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Sebastian Kaleta, estimated on Twitter that,
from now on, any independent decision by Poland will be subject to the risk of financial blackmail, which has been a fact for several months and is now legalized in the EU enclosure
.
Endemic corruption
Hungary and Poland have a lot to lose.
Even if other Member States are under surveillance from Brussels - in particular Romania where the independence of the judiciary is inexorably declining - it is to try to put an end to the excesses observed in these two countries that this mechanism was wanted by the Twenty-Seven in July 2020, when they agreed on the European recovery plan of 750 billion euros.
The Hungarian power, held by Fidesz, is accused of endemic corruption, conflicts of interest in public procurement and fraud.
In Hungary, more than 90% of public investments are co-financed by Europe
Daniel Freund, German Green MEP
The Polish government, in the hands of the nationalist Law and Justice party, is accused of sabotaging the independence of the judiciary and of having questioned the rule of EU law.
In this context, the Commission could have to suspend billions of euros to which these two Member States are entitled.
What singularly complicate their budgetary equation knowing that they are important net beneficiaries of the European budget.
Poland must thus receive 75 billion euros from the EU by 2027. “
In Hungary, more than 90% of public investments are co-financed by Europe
”, recalls German Green MEP Daniel Freund.
The financial headache is all the more important as Brussels has still not given the green light to the Polish and Hungarian recovery plans, of 23.9 and 7 billion euros respectively.
The threats are such that the leaders of these two countries are already showing ill will when it comes to taking decisions at European level.
On Monday, the Poles explained to us that they would not sign the final declaration of the EU-African Union summit, not because they are against the substance, but because of the rule of law
, "says a source from the EU.
A long procedure
At the end of last week, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, campaigning for his re-election, was much more aggressive than usual.
“
The rule of law is a means by which they want to knead us into something that resembles them
,” he lambasted, accusing the EU of waging “
a holy war
” and “
a jihad
”.
Be that as it may, the Commission does not seem to be in a hurry to formally initiate a procedure.
Its services indicated on Wednesday February 16 that “
several weeks
” would be necessary to analyze the judgment of the CJEU and finalize the “
guidelines
” of the mechanism, that is to say the concrete way to apply it.
Geopolitical tensions are probably not unrelated to the hesitations of "VDL".
Last October, the Commission had given up triggering the mechanism because of the attack launched by Belarus on the Polish border.
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The Ukrainian crisis and the resulting pressure on Poland could weigh this time.
Added to this are the upcoming elections in Hungary.
In the European Parliament, where an action for failure to act against the Commission was already initiated in the fall of 2021, we are chomping at the bit.
The president of the institution, Roberta Metsola, said on Wednesday that she wanted the European executive to “
quickly apply the mechanism
”.
Once the procedure has started, you will have to be patient anyway.
According to an EU official, it requires between “
7 and 9 months
”.