Debate: Rule of law situation in the European Union and the application of the Conditionality Regulation
Date: WEDNESDAY, 9 JUNE 2021
Speaker: Johannes Hahn
Language: EN

All of this is a historic achievement for the Union. The Conditionality Regulation applies since the 1 January 2021 and has been followed up from that date. All relevant breaches affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget and the financial interests of the Union after that date will be covered. I will not tire to repeat that no case will be lost.  Since the beginning of this year, the Commission has been screening all sources available to identify and assess rule of law breaches that may be relevant under the Conditionality Regulation. I have been in close and constructive touch with those of you following this dossier in substance, and I observe many others have stated their views on this.  In this context, the Commission relies on various sources of information, such as the rulings of the Court of Justice or reports of the Court of Auditors. One important source is, of course, the Commission’s annual rule of law report. As you know, the Commission is currently preparing the 2021 rule of law report, whose publication is expected in July. Relevant rule of law issues reported on in the country chapters of the 2021 rule of law report will feed into the Commission’s assessment under the Conditionality Regulation.  The Commission also carefully considers and follows up on complaints or other sources of information on its own motion. The Commission will carry out its own assessment whether these sources and documents constitute reasonable evidence of breaches of the principle of the rule of law in a Member State affecting or seriously risking to affect the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way.  The regulation is not an alternative to the procedure under Article 7 of the Treaty. It’s totally independent from it, as its specific purpose is the protection of the Union budget and the Union’s financial interests. The regulation complements the existing procedures to protect the Union’s budget, including investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as interruptions, suspensions and financial corrections under the rules of cohesion policy funds and other instruments. In line with what the co-legislators agreed, the procedure under the regulation will be triggered if the conditions for its application are met, and unless other procedures under Union legislation would allow the Commission to protect the budget more effectively.  The Commission has prepared draft guidelines to bring clarity and predictability on the application of the regulation. My intention is to share this with the Parliament by mid-June, meaning in a few days, as I have indicated this for several weeks now. We want to listen to the views of both the Member States and the Parliament on these draft guidelines. Of course, the guidelines cannot and will not change the law as set by the regulation. The obligations and guarantees established by the regulation will be fully reflected in the guidelines and respected by them.  First, the guidelines deal with the conditions for the adoption of measures which include individual and systemic breaches of the principles of the rule of law. The breaches must of course affect, or seriously risk affecting, the sound financial management of the Union budget or the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way.  Second, the guidelines explain the relation between the regulation and other sectoral legislation to protect the Union budget and further explain the elements the Commission will assess in order to propose appropriate and proportionate measures. I would recall that these are not sanctions.  The final part of the guidelines explains how to protect the rights of final recipients or beneficiaries of Union funding: an aspect that is very important for the Parliament, for the Commission and for all recipients of EU funding.  So what about the process and the next steps?  The Commission has already been actively working on identifying breaches of the principles of the rule of law and assessing whether they affect the Union budget in a sufficiently direct way. Dialogue with the Member States will be important for the Commission to prepare its assessment.  Once the Commission has reasonable grounds to consider that the conditions for the application of the regulations are fulfilled, it will send a written notification to the Member States concerned.  I have just set out all the action that is ongoing to ensure the conditionality mechanism has the success European taxpayers expect and deserve. In this light, and with reference to the motion for a resolution you have on the table, honestly, I don’t see any justification for bringing court action against the Commission. But of course, it’s your decision.