Wednesday 6 July 2022, 11.00 – 12.30, followed by a research workshop

The founders of the EU Treaty have been providing a specific procedure to detect at national level a breach of the EU founding values, among which the rule of law. Although this procedure has been triggered twice by the European Commission and the European Parliament against Hungary and Poland, the Council of Ministers did not succeed to achieve a qualified majority to ascertain that there was a risk of a breach (Article 7 of TEU). The question remained whether that cumbersome procedure was the sole and exclusive legal vehicle for the EU institutions to address the breach of founding values?

In the aftermath of the NGEU 750 billion euro fund, the EU lawmaker adopted a horizontal ‘conditionality mechanism’ that made Member States’ access to funds from the EU budget conditional on respect for the principles of the rule of law. The regulation has gone from being an instrument whose primary objective was the protection of the rule of law to a budgetary conditionality mechanism. On 16 February 2022 the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) dismissed the actions brought by Hungary and Poland against the regulation. In its landmark judgement, the CJEU concluded that the new conditionality mechanism, which is more speedy and effective, could complement Article 7 procedure for protecting the rule of law.

This EU funded Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Seminar will explain the principles of the rule of law from the perspective of the CJEU, and the requirements relevant for the implementation of European funds. From a political perspective, this conditionality mechanism ensures the accountability of national, regional and local authorities in complying with the rule of law.

Presenters:

Prof. Nicolas de Sadeleer

Université Saint-Louis, Brussels

Jean Monnet Chair

Dr Ivana Damjanovic

Centre for European Studies,

Australian National University

Lecturer in Law, University of Canberra

Location:

Effectus poduzetnički studiji – visoko učilište

Trg John F Kennedy 2, Zagreb

T: +381 1 611 77 77 | E: referada@effectus.com.hr