Through the resolution on the rule of law situation in the EU, the European Parliament is overstepping its role, with the conditionality procedure followed being highly inappropriate and detrimental to European values, Alfred Sant told MEPS in the Parliament’s plenary session.
“The procedure leading to the application of EU Regulation 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget should be one based on a technocratic, transparent and independent investigation,
focusing on the flaws in the rule of law in a Member State according to a well-thought out methodology”.
MEPs adopted a resolution saying that the EU’s new rule of law mechanism, which links funding from the EU’s budget to the protection of fundamental democratic norms, should already have been triggered against Poland and Hungary. The resolution supports legal proceedings by the European Parliament against the European Commission over a failure to trigger financial sanctions against Poland and Hungary for undermining the rule of law.
In his intervention, Alfred Sant said that political statements that attempt to amplify or screen the real situation on the ground should not influence this procedure.
“The same Regulation states that when the Commission is assessing the conditions of a country, it shall take into account relevant information including decisions, conclusions and recommendations of Union institutions”.
“However, it is unacceptable that a political entity such as the European Parliament, with many of its Members having a direct conflict of interest in the case, attempts to impose its will on the investigative entity – the European
Commission”.
“Having said all of this, in no way can I condone or support most of the measures that are bringing the mentioned member states under scrutiny. For these reasons, I abstained on the final vote”, Alfred Sant told the European
Parliament.
The parliament’s legal service is now expected to prepare a case against the Commission to be lodged at the European Court of Justice later this year. The resolution proposed by the Greens group passed with 506 MEPs voting in favour, 150 against and 28 abstentions
