The judges in Luxembourg dismiss complaints from Hungary and Poland. The Court of Justice declares a new regulation to punish violations in the EU to be legal.
The European Court of Justice has declared a new regulation to punish violations of the rule of law in the EU to be legal. Judges in Luxembourg on Wednesday dismissed lawsuits from Hungary and Poland, paving the way for the so-called rule of law mechanism to be applied. This makes it possible to cut EU funds in the last step for affected countries.
Specifically, it is about the “Regulation on the conditionality of the rule of law”, which has been in force since the beginning of 2021. Its purpose is to ensure that violations of the rule of law, such as the separation of powers, no longer go unpunished if they threaten to misuse EU funds in a country. In such cases, the EU Commission can propose to cut payments from the joint EU budget.
Outrage in Poland and Hungary
Poland and Hungary saw themselves as being particularly in the focus of the new instrument and therefore complained to the ECJ. The EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen wanted to wait until the verdict before using the mechanism. It also provides for an agreement by the heads of state and government in summer 2020, with which the governments in Budapest and Warsaw were persuaded to give up their blockade on important EU budget decisions. The European Parliament, on the other hand, has been urging the EU Commission to use the mechanism for months.
The governments in Budapest and Warsaw reacted with outrage on Wednesday. The Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga spoke on Facebook of a “political judgement”. It is living proof that Brussels is abusing its power. The Hungarian governing party Fidesz spoke of a “political revenge campaign” and a “rule of law jihad against Hungary”. The verdict is another attempt to put pressure on Hungary over its law restricting information about homosexuality and transsexuality.
The decision of the ECJ represents an “attack on our sovereignty,” said Polish Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta, according to AFP on Twitter. “Poland must defend its democracy against the blackmail aimed at taking away our right to self-determination.”
“EU Commission must finally act”
MEPs, on the other hand, were satisfied after the verdict on Wednesday and called on the EU Commission to act. The EU Commission “must now – in case of further refusal – impose sanctions against Hungary and Poland,” tweeted the Vice President of the EU Parliament Othmar Karas (ÖVP). “If someone doesn’t follow the rules of the game, they shouldn’t get any financial support either,” emphasized the ÖVP delegation leader Angelika Winzig.
The SPÖ and the Greens expressed themselves even sharper. The SPÖ-EU MP Bettina Vollath called for “an immediate and retrospective application of the rule of law mechanism”. The EU Commission must check to what extent EU funds are being used to dismantle democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law and have already been used since the beginning of 2021. The Greens also called on the EU Commission to “finally” act. “As guardian of the treaties, this approach by the EU Commission is grossly negligent towards the citizens of all member states, as this can be seen as support for the governments,” said Green EU delegation leader Monika Vana in a broadcast.
It is unclear whether and how quickly the EU Commission will trigger the mechanism. On the one hand, it still has to finalize the guidelines for the application of the instrument, taking into account the judgement. There are also political considerations: Poland has recently given cautious signals of a rapprochement with Brussels. In Hungary, parliamentary elections are due in early April. Should the EU Commission trigger the rule of law mechanism beforehand, this could be understood as interference in the election campaign.
(APA/dpa)