Disbursement of EU funds, including the Recovery Fund, must be tied to respect for the rule of law in all Member States. Systematic deficiencies in the rule of law always undermine the implementation of EU-funded programmes, and the absence of a rapid and comprehensive EU response to this will jeopardise the EU’s credibility, warns the EESC
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has taken a tough stance on breaches of the rule of law in the EU, declaring it is committed to ensuring that the Council of the European Union and the European Commission impose high dissuasive penalties on Member States which systematically disrespect the rule of law in a way that puts the EU budget at risk.
In the own-initiative opinion Rule of law and the recovery fund
adopted at its plenary session on 20 January, the EESC welcomed the EU’s Regulation 2020/2092, which enables the Commission to impose financial penalties for systematic shortcomings in the rule of law in a given EU country, and called for the regulation to be applied strictly in all areas that are relevant to the budget. Continue reading “EU should crack down on breaches of the rule of law”