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Not only the proven usurpations, but only the examples of threats to the independence of the judiciary will be enough for Brussels to suspend EU funds. But your beneficiaries will receive the funds already promised.
This is how the Rule of Law Mechanism will work at EU level. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, which represents national governments, reached an agreement on the issue today. Now it must be formally approved by both institutions.
“To ensure that final recipients who depend on EU support (students, farmers or NGOs) are not punished for the actions of governments, MEPs have insisted that they have the right to lodge a complaint with the European Commission, that will help by guaranteeing It will not pay directly, the funds will still have to go through state institutions, EU officials explained. “The Commission will have the opportunity to make a financial correction by reducing the next payment” to the country in question, according to the statement from the European Parliament. .
Furthermore, governments will not be able to justify that they do not receive all the funds and therefore will not pay the next beneficiaries (transfers from the EC to the Member States and from the authorities to the recipients of EU funds). they are linked to each other. “It is not a 100% guarantee, but it is an opportunity to protect the final recipients,” said MEPs during a technical briefing on the subject.
Wide and preventive range
“The mechanism will cover any violation of the rule of law: from individual crimes to systemic or recurring problems for which there has been no mechanism so far,” said EPP Rapporteur Petri Sarwamaa. He explicitly clarified that the definition has been broadened to cover “threats” to the independence of the judiciary, rather than harm itself. The preventive aspect will apply to all infringements, even when the infringements may affect the European budget.
However, it will apply not only to the misuse of EU funds, but also to systemic violations of freedom, democracy, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of minorities. At a press conference, the negotiating team said that the Copenhagen criteria for joining the EU would also apply. This practically eliminates the possibility that EU member states will begin to undermine the independence of the judiciary, as has happened with Poland and Hungary.
Violations will also include tax fraud and tax evasion, whether in individual cases or widespread problems.
The culprit will not have the right to veto
The great advance for the negotiators is that the guilty countries will not have the right to veto the decision, which would nullify the entire mechanism.
Decisions will be taken by a qualified majority in the Council, ie 55% of Member States with a total population of 65% of all Europeans must vote in favor. This is the most widely used decision-making mechanism in the EU. It has the potential for at least four countries with more than 35% of the population to form a “blocking minority.” Countries that abstain are counted as voting against.
How it will work
The European Commission will propose that the mechanism be activated for a specific country, and the Council will have one month to vote on the proposed measures (in exceptional cases – three months). The Commission shall have the right to convene an extraordinary council to ensure that the deadline is met. Therefore, the entire procedure will take a maximum of nine months.
Details can be found later at www.dnevnik.bg.
