The European Parliament is prepared to take legal action should the Commission delay the application of the budget’s Rule of Law conditionality mechanism any further.

The rule-of-law conditionality mechanism is a new tool designed to protect EU funds from being misused by EU governments who are found to have failed to respect the principle of the rule of law. The rule-of-law conditionality mechanism has already been in force since 1 January 2021.

In a resolution adopted on the 25th of March 2021, MEPs recall that the failure of member states to respect the rule of law may affect the integrity of the EU budget. They warn the European Commission that if it fails to fulfil its obligations under the legally binding conditionality regulation and does not take all appropriate measures to defend the EU’s financial interests and values, Parliament “will consider this to constitute a failure to act” and will take the Commission to court under Article 265 TFEU.

MEPs reiterate the importance of applying the Rule of Law mechanism without delay, particularly given its potential implications for the upcoming disbursement of the NextGenerationEU recovery fund.

For more information, please visit the European Parliament’s website.

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