An MEP of France’s National Rally said on Wednesday that there was a risk that the European Commission could use the European Union’s rule of law conditionality mechanism designed
to protect the EU budget as a political tool against Hungary. Helen Laport told MTI in Strasbourg that this was because there was no clear definition of what constitutes a
violation of the principles of rule of law. Commenting on a position planned to be approved at an EP plenary session concerning the situation of the rule of law in Hungary and
Poland, she said that the EP’s Identity and Democracy Group had submitted an alternative draft resolution which supported Hungary. The EP’s planned resolution refers to the rule of
law but there is no generally accepted legal definition of the term, and this paves the way for vague interpretations, she said.
The MEPs that have submitted the alternative draft resolution supporting Hungary have warned that without a clear definition of the rule of law, the EC could use the conditionality
mechanism as a political weapon, she said. The alternative resolution argues that the legal authorities of various member states have different interpretations for the rule of law
and there is no consensual interpretation at the EU level, she said. It also states that the EU had overstepped its authority when it approved the conditionality mechanism, she
added. She said the conditionality mechanism was a controlled political tool and members of the ID group condemn all attacks against Hungary under the guise of the mechanism. They
consider it unacceptable that the EU could hold back funding due to Hungary and Poland, she said. Instead, the bloc should better recognise these countries’ efforts in receiving
refugees fleeing from the Ukraine war, she added