Rule of law mechanism should apply by January, MEPs insist
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In yesterday’s resolution, MEPs insisted that the Rule of Law mechanism should apply as of January 1.
The European Council had issued a declaration to suspend the Rule of Law mechanism pending ECJ approval.
A resolution on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the Interinstitutional Agreement, the EU Recovery Instrument and the Rule of Law Regulation was adopted in a vote on Wednesday night with 496 votes in favour, 134 against and 65 abstentions.
The Parliament said that a Council conclusion arguing the Commission should not apply the Rule of Law mechanism until the European Court of Justice has made a decision is “superfluous”.
According to EU treaties, the European Council “shall not exercise legislative functions”. MEPs therefore consider “that any political declaration of the European Council cannot be deemed to represent an interpretation of legislation”. The Commission is “completely independent” and the Council conclusions “cannot be made binding on the Commission in applying legal acts”, MEPs add.
Parliament said it strongly regrets that the requirement to have unanimity in Council has unduly delayed the adoption of the MFF and own resources decision, among others. The upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe should work on overcoming these hurdles.
