EP to sue EC over failure to apply conditionality mechanism
David Sassoli
Photo by Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com
European Parliament President David Sassoli on Wednesday said he asked the EP's legal service to prepare a lawsuit against the European Commission for its failure to apply a conditionality mechanism that would penalize European Union member states for rule-of-law violations that affect the management of EU funding, according to a report by state news wire MTI.
In the letter to the EP's legal service, Sassoli said "due account shall be taken of the highly political circumstances surrounding the present case".
"In the context of an evolved situation, notably with regard to the pending Court's judgments in the actions for annulment of the Conditionality Regulation brought by Hungary and Poland, but also in light of the announced actions to be taken by the Commission, it is proposed for Parliament's action to be withheld or withdrawn, only insofar as the Commission formally triggers the procedure under the Conditionality Regulation by sending a written notification to one or more Member State(s)," he wrote.
Hungary, together with Poland, lodged a challenge to the conditionality mechanism with the Court of Justice of the European Union in March
"EU Member States that violate the rule of law should not receive EU funds. Last year, Parliament fought hard for a mechanism to ensure this. However, so far the European Commission has been reluctant to use it," Sassoli said after meeting EP political group leaders on Wednesday.
The conditionality mechanism could cut or freeze funding for member states in which established breaches of the rule of law are deemed to compromise the management of EU monies.
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