Freezing EU Funds: An Effective Tool to Enforce the Rule of Law?

Summary:

The rule of law, one of the EU’s founding values, has deteriorated in several member-states. The worst declines have taken place in Hungary and Poland. The Hungarian government, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has systematically undermined judicial independence, media freedoms and civil society, dismantling democratic institutions and consolidating power in its hands. Poland’s previous Law and Justice government, in power between 2015 and 2023, similarly politicised the judiciary, introducing unconstitutional laws and tightening control over the courts; it also captured the public broadcaster and launched smear campaigns against critics.

The declines in the rule of law have far-reaching consequences that go beyond Hungary and Poland. The rule of law underpins the single market and is key for the EU’s common legal and security framework: it fosters trust and transparency and allows citizens and companies to thrive. The EU has therefore introduced measures to tackle the deterioration, most significantly, it has started applying rule of law conditionality before handing out EU money.

• Alternative Source 1

ESO Records

European Information Hub: 2022- : CJEU Case C-769/22 | Commission v Hungary (Valeurs de l’Union) https://www.europeansources.info/record/cjeu-case-c-769-22-commission-v-hungary-valeurs-de-lunion/

House of Commons Library Research Briefings: CBP-9868, Feb. 2024: Poland: The Law and Justice Government and relations with the EU, 2015-2023 https://www.europeansources.info/record/poland-the-law-and-justice-government-and-relations-with-the-eu-2015-2023/

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