Jourová: Law-abiding countries have nothing to fear from funding-cut plan

Brussels would cut off cash only in ‘clear-cut situation,’ justice commissioner says.

Any country that opposes a plan to link EU funds to the rule of law will be suggesting it’s not a good steward of the bloc’s resources, European Commissioner for Justice Věra Jourová said Monday.

The European Commission last week unveiled a proposal alongside its blueprint for the bloc’s next multiannual budget that would allow Brussels to cut off EU funds if a country is deemed to not have an independent judicial system. The move was widely seen as a warning shot to Hungary and Poland, which have both clashed with the Commission over rule of law, and to other countries that may be tempted to backslide on democratic standards.

“If a state now protests against this, the state kind of admits that they will not be guaranteeing in the future the sound financial management and protection of EU money,” Jourová told POLITICO in an interview.

The Czech commissioner said the proposal is needed as, in her experience, EU funds can attract “big, bad people.”

Jourová said she is worried about financial accountability in some member countries. She is lobbying for the four remaining EU countries that have not joined the European Public Prosecutor’s Office — Hungary, Poland, Malta, and Sweden — to come onboard.

“I am concerned about the low percentage of OLAF recommendations taken by the Hungarian authorities,” she said, referring to the bloc’s anti-fraud agency.

OLAF has investigated allegations of misuse of EU funds in Hungary, including by a company formerly owned by the prime minister’s son-in-law. But Hungarian prosecutors have taken no serious steps to follow up on the agency’s findings, raising the ire of some EU politicians and officials.

Unlike the EU’s long-term budget, the rule of law proposal would not need the unanimous consent of all member countries to be passed. Nor would all member countries have to approve a specific proposal to block funds — in fact, the targeted country would have to muster a majority to stop the measure taking effect.

The Commission is now trying to assure member countries that the proposal does not constitute a power grab and would only apply under very concrete, narrowly defined circumstances.

The new procedure will only be used in “a clear-cut situation,” Jourová said.

If approved, the new mechanism would be applied when EU funds — or the judicial system that safeguards the use of the funds — is in question: Civil rights and human rights problems, for example, would not lead to EU funds being cut.

“We wanted to come with a realistic proposal,” Jourová said. “This is the compromise we made.”

This article is part of POLITICO’s new coverage of the EU budget, tracking the development of the seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework, and the first EU budget that will face a low or no contribution from the United Kingdom. This coverage includes the Budget Briefing newsletter every Monday afternoon. Email [email protected] to request a complimentary trial.