MEPs Monika HOHLMEIER (EPP, DE) , Chair of CONT (Budgetary Control) Committee and Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Chair of LIBE (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) Committee assess the EU Court of Justice’s decision on the request to annul the regulation that links disbursement of EU funds with respect for the rule of law. The budget conditionality regulation aims to protect EU funds from being misused by national governments that breach the rule of law.

statement

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Juan Fernando (S&D, ES)

EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (T)

Committee on Budgetary Control

HOHLMEIER, Monika (EPP, DE)

Court of Justice of the European Union

The Rule of Law and the consequences of the ECJ ruling: statements by Monika HOHLMEIER (EPP, DE) , Chair of CONT Committee and Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Chair of LIBE Committee

SOUNDBITE (English), Monika HOHLMEIER (EPP, DE), Chair of CONT Committee, I really welcome the judgement of the ECJ, which dismissed the action by Poland and Hungary against the conditionality mechanism, and fully confirmed that the mechanism is legally sound and was adopted on an appropriate legal basis and respects the principle of legal certainty. So it is in line with the Lisbon Treaty, so it was really fully confirmed. Then secondly, the ECJ declared that it is legally sound because it is clearly linked to the European budget. So the conditionnality mechanism, as the Parliament has negotiated it really was confirmed.

SOUNDBITE (English), Monika HOHLMEIER (EPP, DE), Chair of CONT Committee, I think that the Commission will act. The Commission wanted to respect the ECJ. We had to respect that Commission did not act as swift as we wanted to have it because the two cases of Poland and Hungary are obvious. And then in the CONT committees of the Budgetary Control Committee, we saw every day systemic fraud in public tenders for example. We saw that oligarchic structures were subsidised in an arbitrary way. So we saw several issues where we saw that the Commission could have acted quickly. So now we really expect that they are doing it. If the Commission is not doing it, I think Parliament will put a lot of pressure.

SOUNDBITE (English), Juan Fernando L&#211;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), Chair of LIBE Committee, No surprise. We have always been convinced that the regulation was to be upheld. That was not only the opinion previously delivered by the avocat general, but was also the statement that has been endorsed all the way by the European Parliament right from the start.

SOUNDBITE (English), Juan Fernando L&#211;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), Chair of LIBE Committee, So it is about time that those principles are binding for for those member states and for all of the member states. Which means that yes, there is good grounds to suspend payments for both Hungary and Poland, including access to the recovery fund, and so far as they do not show their true political will to comply fully to the requirements of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, which include independence of the judiciary. They are to abide by the rulings of the European Court of Justice. They are in contempt of the rulings of the European Court of Justice for all too long. It is about time that the commission takes its role seriously as guardian of the treaties and guardian of the European law.

SOUNDBITE (English), Juan Fernando L&#211;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), Chair of LIBE Committee, It's been binding all the way. But now that it has been upheld by the European Court of Justice ruling, the only way forward is to act now. That means we have grounds not only to suspend the payments for both Hungary and Poland for not complying with the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy requirements. We can also file action against the Commission for not compliance or failing to act if the Commission does not fulfil its part of the job and does not fulfil it now. That is what we expect from the commission action and now.