• Migrants, Germany to the EU: helping Poland.

    Brussels squeeze on visas to Belarusian officials

  • Poland, the premier: "If the EU starts war, ready to defend us with all available weapons"

Share

19 November 2021 The European Commission services sent two administrative letters to Poland and Hungary "to request information on the situation of the rule of law". This request could affect the application of the general regime of "conditionality for the disbursement of EU funds". This was announced by a spokesman for the community executive: "Warsaw and Budapest now have two months to send the requested information"



The tug-of-war over the rules of law


The administrative letters represent a first step towards a possible stop to funds, and are based on the principle of conditionality which entered into force in January 2020 (but on which an appeal from Budapest and Warsaw is pending) under which the Commission can contact a State member and request information, if necessary for its evaluation.



The long-running conflict over democratic norms


The Brussels move comes at a time of tension in the long-standing conflict between the EU and Central European governments over democratic norms.


On Poland a stalemate with the union on the disputed judicial reforms that the European courts have declared illegal. While in Hungary, the government was accused of systematically undermining independent institutions and of not hindering rampant corruption.



The mechanism behind the letters:


The mechanism allows the EU to cut funding to member countries in cases where "certain violations of the rule of law harm the financial interests of the EU", for example if national courts are not found to be independent. Warsaw and Budapest challenged the EU Court of Justice for the legality of the mechanism and EU leaders asked the European Commission to refrain from activating it "until the court finishes reviewing the process". It is not yet clear when - and if - the Commission will formally activate the mechanism, and if it will find sufficient support in the council to make the cuts.



Billions in funding for the Pandemic are at stake


The rule of law mechanism is only one of the few tools available to Brussels to exert financial pressure on Warsaw and Budapest.

The Commission has yet to approve billions in pandemic recovery funds for Poland and Hungary, while the EU supreme court recently hit the Polish government with a record fine of € 1 million a day