[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The European Parliament has filed a lawsuit against the European Union (EU) Commission. The reason is that the Commission did not apply regulations linking the rule of law compliance of EU member states to budget support.
David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, stated on the 29th (local time) that the European Parliament's legal team has filed a lawsuit against the EU Commission with the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the highest court of the EU, for not applying the conditional EU budget regulations.
The regulation allows the EU Commission to withhold or temporarily suspend EU budget support for member states that violate the rule of law.
This regulation was introduced amid concerns among EU member states about the erosion of the rule of law, judicial independence, and freedom of the press in some member states such as Poland and Hungary.
The EU Commission has criticized the judicial reforms pursued by the Polish government, stating that they seriously undermine the EU's values of judicial independence, the rule of law, and democracy, leading to conflicts with Poland.
Poland and Hungary sought a ruling from the ECJ on the legality of this regulation, and the EU Commission has been waiting for the outcome without yet activating the regulation, according to dpa news agency. The ECJ ruling on this matter is expected in a few weeks.
President Sassoli explained that the EU Commission has not used this regulation so far, and accordingly, the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee had previously recommended legal action on this issue, which is the background of this decision.
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