The Court of Justice of the EU rejects the appeals of Hungary and Poland
Two judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union endorsed this Wednesday the withholding of European funds from countries that violate the rule of law. Poland and Hungary resorted to this new mechanism to achieve its annulment, but finally the high court has agreed with Brussels. The European judges defend that the purpose of the regulation is to “protect the Union budget (…) and not sanction the violation” of the rule of law.
In the same way, it considers that the instrument adopted by the Community Executive has an adequate legal basis and respects the competences of the European Union. As detailed in his sentence, he considers that respect for community values ”is a requirement to enjoy all the rights derived from the application of the Treaties to a Member State.”
This decision is, therefore, a warning to the rogue countries, a legal process in which the governments of Warsaw and Budapest feel they are being targeted. At the beginning of the month, the European Commission blocked 15 million Next Generation funds destined for Poland for not complying with European Justice. In addition, the CJEU has another open process against the ultra-conservative Polish government, in which it imposes a penalty of 69 million euros for not dismantling a disciplinary regime for Polish judges that the EU considers a risk to the rule of law.
Warsaw and Budapest, on the other hand, believe that this regulation collides with others already existing in the EU Treaties and voted against its adoption. The two countries also blocked the adoption of the European budget and the anti-crisis plan of 800,000 million euros for several weeks to try to overthrow this mechanism, which they consider arbitrary and lacking in legal basis.
#European #justice #conditions #funds #comply #rule #law