The court’s decision is unlikely to silence Poland and Hungary, which are vehemently opposed to the rule of law mechanism.
The European Union’s rule of law mechanism is expected to receive the green light on Wednesday from the European Court of Justice, which will rule on the legality of the mechanism.
The rule of law mechanism binds the use of EU funds to the rule of law. The rule of law means, for example, that the independence of the judiciary is safeguarded.
Simply put, a Member State must follow common rules within the EU if it wants to share in the common currency. The rule of law mechanism has been called for to be a more effective way of tackling the misuse of funds.
The rule of law mechanism entered into force at the beginning of last year, but it has not been used, as Poland and Hungary, which are vehemently opposed to the mechanism, appealed the regulation to the European Court of Justice in March last year. According to Poland and Hungary, the mechanism would be in conflict with EU law.
The opinion foreshadowed the green light
The Court is expected to give the green light to the rule of law, as in December the Advocate General of the Court considered that the actions of Poland and Hungary should be dismissed and that the Regulation on the rule of law was properly enforced under EU law.
Member of the European Parliament who acted as Chief Negotiator for the Rule of Law Mechanism in the EU Parliament Petri Sarvamaa (co.) considers a positive decision for the mechanism to be very likely.
– Such a small statistical collection that about 80 percent of the Advocate General’s proposals are implemented as such, Sarvamaa said at a press conference on Monday.
Should the court find that the rule of law mechanism is not fully in line with EU law, the regulation would have to be corrected.
In that case, according to Sarvamaa, the EU Parliament would try to pass a resolution in plenary as soon as possible, calling on the EU Commission to present a new version or corrections.
A multi-step process
If the court decides in favor of the mechanism, the European Commission is expected to start using the mechanism.
The Commission has wanted to wait for the Court’s opinion before taking practical action, even if the court proceedings themselves have not prevented the Commission from initiating the mechanism.
The use of the rule of law mechanism is a multi-step process. Officially, it all starts with the Commission sending a notification to a Member State suspected of a lack of the rule of law in the use of EU money, to which the Member State has one to three months to respond.
Following this reply, the Commission submits a proposal for measures to the Council, which represents the Member States, acting by a qualified majority. Therefore, the opposition of one Member State is not enough to stop the use of the mechanism.
Following the Court’s favorable decision, it is likely that some weeks will elapse before the Commission sends the first letter of notification.
Poland and Hungary continue to oppose
The first step has already been prepared in the Commission. Sarvamaa estimates that the Commission wants to make sure that the first case to be taken forward is watertight.
Sarvamaa believes that Poland and Hungary will still do their utmost to oppose the mechanism and would probably complain about the Commission’s possible notifications to them.
They could also find the regulation to be unconstitutional, which would mean referring not only to EU law but also to the European Court of Justice.
The eyes turn to the Commission
After the court’s decision, the eyes turn to the Commission and how firmly it takes the next steps.
The European Parliament has previously criticized the Commission for not stepping up its efforts to use the rule of law mechanism more quickly.
Last year, Parliament even took legal action against the Commission for this matter. Sarvamaa estimates that Parliament will withdraw its action once the Commission has actually rolled up its sleeves and started using the mechanism.