Will the EU dare to deny funds to countries that are violating democracy? Poland and Hungary have recently reacted to the court’s ruling: “The EU is abusing its power”. There are still big disputes ahead, writes Anna Karismo, a financial journalist following the EU.
The EU’s “supreme court”, the European Court of Justice, ruled on Wednesday that the union has the right to refuse aid to member states if they violate democratic principles.
There is no appeal against the decision, but there is still a great deal of political twist ahead.
For years, the EU has been fighting the decline of democracy in some of its member states, but so far it has done little to change the authoritative course in Hungary or Poland, for example. Now the Commission has got a concrete weapon, and the ball is next for the Brussels institutions.
The Commission may initiate infringement proceedings
Hungary and Poland complained (going to another service) last year to court over a new EU punishment mechanism. It would allow the EU to freeze subsidies from countries that violate the rule of law. The country twin considers that the mechanism does not have an appropriate legal basis.
In practice, the rule of law means that public power is exercised within the limits of the law, democracy and human rights are respected, and the exercise of power is monitored by independent courts.
Hungary and Poland are the largest recipients of EU aid. They have been on a collision course with Brussels several times in recent years. The EU has accused them, among other things, of violating the rules of the game in Western democracy and undermining the independence of the media.
In Hungary, there have been suspicions of corruption and mismanagement of EU funds by the Prime Minister Viktor Orbánin to a related party. Orbán advocates “illiberal democracy,” which in practice means (switch to another service) suppression of democracy.
Wednesday’s ruling is important because Hungary and Poland initially tried to block the introduction of the new mechanism. The issue was discussed at meetings of the Council of Ministers and EU leaders.
In the end, the duo agreed to the plan on the condition that the European Court of Justice review its legality. Prior to the court ruling, the mechanism could not be put in place.
The Commission can now initiate proceedings against Poland and Hungary, which could lead to the suspension of aid. The Commission will first send the countries a comment, to which they will have three months to reply.
After that, the Commission can propose the closure of the countries’ currencies, but a qualified majority of the member states is still required for approval.
“Parliament catches up like a beast”
The ruling was particularly eagerly awaited by MEPs, who see the rule of law as the EU’s most effective weapon against anti-democratic forces.
Parliament has also sued the Commission for failing to act with sufficient urgency and determination.
The principle of the rule of law has been the most visible in the construction of the Coalition Party Petri Sarvamaa. He expects the Commission to be the first to send the notification to Hungary as early as March.
– Parliament will catch up with the Commission like a beast, Larvamaa estimates this morning.
The EU has not yet determined how much aid could be denied at any one time in any case. The Commission’s first notification is therefore read in the Member States with a magnifying glass, as it is indicative.
The Commission has already used the money as a means of exerting pressure by failing to process the aid requested by Poland and Hungary under the Recovery Facility. They receive a total of tens of billions of euros in funding from the Recovery Facility and the EU’s annual budgets.
Hungary even threatens to secede from the EU
According to Hungary and Poland, the Court exceeded its jurisdiction in approving the sanction mechanism because the rule of law is not enshrined in the EU Treaties.
According to Polish comments, this is an “attack” on the country.
– Poland must defend its democracy against blackmail, which is intended to deprive us of its own decision-making power. Especially when Poland loses funds from measures that are common in Spain or Germany, the Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta said On Twitter (switching to another service).
– This decision confirms a dangerous attempt to bypass EU agreements, a spokesman for the Polish government said.
Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga in turn criticized the decision on his Facebook page. He said the verdict was “political” and evidence that the EU was abusing its power.
The countries are still challenging the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Both Hungarian and Polish courts have already ruled that their own constitutions take precedence over EU law in some cases.
You can discuss the matter until Thursday night at 11 p.m.