Can Poland and Hungary avert the threatened cut in EU funds with the help of a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice? A legal opinion now takes a clear position on this question.
Luxembourg – It becomes more likely that Hungary and Poland can cut EU funds for alleged violations of the rule of law. Because an important legal opinion recommends the European Court of Justice to dismiss complaints of the two countries against a new EU sanction rule.
The governments in Warsaw and Budapest argue, among other things, that there is no suitable legal basis for the so-called rule of law mechanism. They fear punishment with the help of the new mechanism because critics accuse them of influencing the judiciary contrary to EU standards.
The opinions of the ECJ are not legally binding, but the judges at the highest court in the EU often follow them. Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona stated in the document published on Thursday that, in his view, the mechanism has an appropriate legal basis and is also compatible with other principles of EU law. “In these circumstances, the Advocate General proposes that the Court dismiss the actions for annulment brought by Hungary and Poland.”
Government representatives from Warsaw and Budapest reacted with anger: “This is a violation of the rule of law,” wrote Poland’s Deputy Justice Minister Sebastian Kaleta on Twitter. It was naive to trust that the EU institutions were capable of self-restraint. Hungary’s Justice Minister Judit Varga described the new EU rule on her Facebook page as “rule of law extortion”. She emphasized that the report was not a judgment, but an opinion. A judgment could come in a few weeks or months.
Specifically, the rule of law mechanism provides that EU states can reduce funds from the community budget if there is a risk of misuse of EU funds due to violations of the rule of law, such as the separation of powers. The governments in Hungary and Poland fear that the new procedure will primarily be used against them.
The report that has now been published does not follow the plaintiffs’ arguments, but rather makes it clear that the term rule of law under the new mechanism meets the minimum requirements for “clarity, accuracy and predictability” and thus complies with the principle of legal certainty.
Shortly after the report was announced, MEPs from the FDP and the Greens renewed their demand that the EU Commission should apply the rule of law mechanism immediately. A good month ago, the European Parliament sued the EU Commission before the ECJ because it had not yet taken action. The EU Commission does not want to trigger the mechanism until there is a judgment on the lawsuits.
There has been a dispute with Hungary and Poland for years because, as evidenced by a number of court rulings, they do not comply with EU law. Poland’s national-conservative PiS government has been restructuring the judicial system for years. The EU Commission has already opened several infringement proceedings against the government in Warsaw because of the reforms. dpa
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