Analysis
Politics
European Commission Report Highlights Ukraine’s Gains in Governance, Reform and Resilience
7 November 2024
17 February 2022
The Court emphasised the rule of law as a value common to all member states.
On 16 the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in case C-156/21 concerning the legality of the Conditionality Regulation, which had been challenged by Poland and Hungary. The court dismissed the challenges, finding the Regulation valid.
The Conditionality Regulation is a mechanism to deny funds from the EU budget to a member state that does not respect the rule of law. In cases where breaches of the rule of law in a member state threaten EU financial interests, the EU Commission may ask the Council to adopt suitable measures, for instance freezing payments to the state concerned. It is thus called a ‘conditionality mechanism,’ as it makes EU funding conditional on respecting the rule of law.
The Regulation was adopted in late 2020, as a response to the deteriorating situation in some member states, chiefly in Poland and Hungary.