Sassoli: we will sue EU Commission for not applying rule of law conditionality mechanism

"President David Sassoli today asked the legal services of the European Parliament to prepare a lawsuit against the European Commission for its failure to apply the Conditionality Regulation. The regulation, which was adopted last December, allows the EU to suspend payments from the EU budget to Member States in which the rule of law is under threat," reads an official statement at the EU Parliament webiste.

"The letter from the President to the legal services of the Parliament comes after a vote in the Parliament’s legal affairs committee that recommended bringing proceedings before the Court of Justice. A majority of political group leaders in today’s Conference of Presidents supported this action," we read further.

The statement also stipulates the EU Parliament "will withdraw this legal proceeding if the Commission takes the necessary measures".

"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," EU Parliament chief was quoted as having said after the meeting of political group leaders.

“The European Union is a community built on the principles of democracy and the rule of law. If these are under threat in a Member State, the EU must act to protect them. I have therefore asked our legal services to prepare a lawsuit against the Commission to ensure that EU rules are properly enforced," Sassoli stressed, according to statement.