EU parliament debated linking funds to the rule of law

The debate on the conditionality mechanism in the EU budget, including the 750-billion-euro recovery fund, took place on Monday in Brussels.

In her speech, the EU Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova said violations of the rule of law would not be tolerated and that the bloc would keep on protecting it and its institutions. "European values are not for sale" - Jourova added.

Vice-President of the Renew Europe group Michal Simecka said: "In communist Czechoslovakia, my family was persecuted for voicing disagreement with the totalitarian regime. Growing up, I perceived the EU as someplace where such abuses were not possible. The EU's democratic identity is now under threat, but I am not going to give up the fight".

"We need a permanent, legally binding mechanism that streamlines and makes more effective the rule of law instruments that we have and we need the EU Commission and the EU Council to be serious in restoring the EU as a community of shared values" - Simecka argued.

Polish MEPs from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group Beata Kempa and Patryk Jaki criticised the discussed mechanism.

Kempa argued that the proposed rules were "a skillful strategy of hiding the next step of EU federalisation under the guise of fight for the rule of law". She added that "the officials in Brussels want to control every reform introduced in the member states, under the guise of care for democracy they want to introduce abortion, gender ideology, as well as special rights for sexual minorities. The Christian part of Europe won't accept it".

Patryk Jaki referred to history and accused the Western countries of inaction when Poland had been attacked by Germany and the Soviet Union. "Poland was defending principles, and yet you gave it up to the Soviets and watched how its growth was curbed for decades. That's why today you have economic advantage. Give us back the years Poland had lost and you won't be so arrogant anymore" - said Poland's former deputy justice minister.

"The level of shameless attacks on Poland reached its peak today. They compare us to totalitarian regimes. That's why they had to be told where their economic advantage over Poland came from..." - Jaki tweeted after the debate.

MEPs representing the majority of political groups in the chamber have supported the idea of introducing the Mechanism on Democracy, Rule of Law & Fundamental Rights.