European Parliament to sue European Commission over unfreezing funds for Hungary - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
The European Parliament is preparing to sue the European Commission over its controversial decision to unfreeze billions of dollars for Hungary late last year, despite concerns about human rights and rule of law violations.
The European Parliament is preparing to sue the European Commission over its controversial decision to unfreeze billions of dollars in funds for Hungary at the end of last year. This was reported by Politico , citing its sources among the people involved in the decision, UNN reported.
The move by the committee, which is supported by members of von der Leyen's own European People's Party, is designed as "a sign to the Commission president that the rule of law cannot be exchanged for deals with Orban.
Details
According to the newspaper, the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs on Monday voted almost unanimously to sue the Commission for violating its obligations to protect taxpayers' money from misuse. "16 members voted in favor, one member voted against. There were no abstentions.
It is noted that in December last year, the Commission unblocked 10.2 billion euros of frozen EU cohesion funds intended for Budapest, which were held back due to human rights and rule of law issues.
The decision came a day before the EU summit, where leaders were to discuss new aid to Ukraine and the start of accession talks for Kyiv, steps that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had threatened to block.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's decision to unfreeze the MEPs' funds was met with a negative reaction. They accused her of succumbing to Orban's blackmail.
We believe that we have a strong case, because the Commission contradicts itself as to whether Hungary respects the rule of law. The EU Court of Justice has always been in favor of judicial independence.
Leaders of political groups are set to meet on Thursday to give the final green light to President Roberta Metsola to take the Commission to court by March 25. Along with the leaders of the S&D, Greens, Left and Liberals, EPP leader Manfred Weber will vote in favor of the move. Playbook officials told the publication.
A Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday morning that it adhered to "strict timeframes and conditions" in making these decisions. As Hungary had provided "all the evidence necessary for the Commission to demonstrate the independence of its judiciary", it was "under a legal obligation to take this decision".
The Commission believes that it acted in full compliance with EU law and will defend its decision in EU courts.
