EU to Use Rule-of-Law Tool ‘in Days’ With Poland on Defense
- New power to freeze funding over rule-of-law issues one option
- EU’s Reynders in interview says next steps also rest on Poland
The EU has been hinting for a while it may soon trigger the conditionality mechanis.
Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
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The European Union may trigger a new tool as soon as this week that allows it to withhold budget payments to member states that fail to adhere to the bloc’s democratic standards.
The so-called conditionality mechanism came into force this year and hasn’t yet been used by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. If it does, the mechanism could freeze billions of euros in budgetary payments bound for member states.