Portugal and the Rule of Law in the EU – Susana Coroado
And what impact does the CJEU’s decision have in Portugal? Firstly, it reminds us that the country was one of the first member states to trigger the intervention of the CJEU in matters of internal rule of law.
A historic – but also obvious – decision came out this Wednesday from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the legality of the rule of law mechanism, which had been questioned by Hungary and Poland. In summary, the CJEU confirmed that the granting of European funds to Member States can be conditional on respecting the rules of the rule of law within each country. It should be remembered that the Community institutions approved a new conditionality regime, with a view to guaranteeing the protection of the Union’s budget and financial interests, violations — sporadic, recurrent or systemic — of the principles of the rule of law. As such, the European Commission can suspend the transfer of financial support to Hungary and Poland, which have repeatedly violated the principles of the rule of law and the most basic European values to follow, and whoever comes to with similar intentions and practices. reminds us all that the EU is not a source of easy money, but above all a community of values, peace, democracy and respect for human rights. Money helps to consolidate and fulfill these values, but it is not an end in itself. You cannot be with money without sharing and respecting its values.