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The European Union may have various instruments at its disposal to protect its budget against violations of the rule of law in the Member States, but these instruments still have several weaknesses. The European Court of Auditors says this in a new report.
Source: BELGA
Today at 06:11
Since 2021, the EU has had a so-called conditionality mechanism. This means that European financial flows to Member States where the rule of law is being violated can be partially suspended or reduced. The mechanism has already been used once, when Hungary saw 6.3 billion euros blocked by the European Commission, partly because the fight against corruption in the country leaves much to be desired.
The EU can protect its financial interests in other ways. For example, there is the inefficient ‘Article 7 procedure’ (to suspend the voting rights of Member States in the Council), the possibility of the Commission to open infringement procedures and provisions on cohesion policy and payments from the corona recovery fund.
In addition to Hungary, various European measures have also been taken against Poland following concerns about the rule of law, although it must be said that the new government in Warsaw only proposed an action plan this week to respond to all criticism. The offending measures were the work of the previous conservative government.
Insufficient control
According to the Court of Auditors, there is insufficient monitoring of whether remedial measures taken by Member States to respond to European criticism actually improve the situation on the ground. “In practice, they do not necessarily go beyond simply checking boxes,” it said. In addition, the potential consequences for other budget items, such as agricultural policy, are not sufficiently taken into account.
The Court of Auditors therefore recommends that the European Commission better monitor the effect of measures taken to protect European financial interests. The concrete consequences – estimated at EUR 22 billion in Hungary, EUR 134 billion in Poland – will only be able to be accurately quantified in the future, while in the meantime the Member State in question can no longer fulfill its obligations due to the lack of European support, which even threatens the realization of EU programs and policy objectives. Ordinary citizens could then become the first victims. Consider students who can no longer participate in the Erasmus+ exchange program.
Finally, the Court of Auditors warns that political considerations may play a role in the decision to release or no longer block European money, while in fact this must be based on technical and legal arguments. Reference is made to the decision in December last year to release 10 billion euros in frozen funds for Hungary. That decision coincided with the vote on opening accession negotiations with Ukraine, which also required Budapest’s approval.
