Source: European Parliament
The Commission’s work to promote and defend the rule of law is underpinned by equal treatment between Member States, the full respect of EU law and European standards, and a process embedded in dialogue and mutual understanding.
The Commission has a wide range of tools at its disposal to uphold the rule of law, with the same rules and principles applying to each Member State. These tools include the annual Rule of Law Report, the article 7 procedure, the general regime of conditionality and infringement proceedings.
The general regime of conditionality[1] is designed to protect against breaches of the principles of the rule of law that affect or seriously risk affecting the EU budget.
The conditions for its application are established by the Conditionality Regulation adopted by the co-legislators and upheld by the Court of Justice.
The European Parliament has recognised the effectiveness of the general regime of conditionality. The Commission makes its assessment in an objective, impartial and fair manner, in line with the regulation.
The Council is the institution that adopts the final decisions. The European Court of Auditors found that the measures taken by the Council in respect of one Member State so far were in line with the regulation.
Regarding infringement proceedings, Articles 258 and 260 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union allow the Commission to take action when a Member State fails to fulfil its obligations under EU law.
In its role as guardian of the Treaties, the Commission monitors the application and enforcement of EU law by the Member States and may decide to take appropriate action against a Member State. The Court of Justice is the final arbiter in matters of infringement.
- [1] http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/2092/oj.