With the next Multiannual Financial Framework and rules to support its implementation currently under negotiation, the moment for reflection is ripe. A key mechanism found in the associated legislation is ‘conditionality’, an instrument for determining the conditions under which funds are released or suspended. Rule of law conditionality is a key part of the EU’s rule of law ‘toolbox’, a set of mechanisms at the EU’s disposal to secure respect for this value. In some instances, conditionality has been quite effective. For instance, conditionality enforcement helped achieve legislative reforms related to judicial independence and anti-corruption in Hungary and Poland. Some experts also see it as having contributed to the
ending of Polish municipalities’ so-called ‘LGBT free zone’ declarations. But there have also been some disappointments. Sometimes, EU institutions have not enforced conditionality despite the presence of rule of law infringements, or have released funds to Member States without real change on the ground. This policy paper therefore takes stock of existing rule of law conditionality rules as well as those tabled in the proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPP) Regulation. It highlights how rule of law conditionality can be strengthened by the EU and has two functions. First, it maps the gaps in the conditionality mechanisms contained in existing instruments—the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) Regulation and the Conditionality Regulation—as well as those identified in the proposed NRPP Regulation. Second, it proposes recommendations on how these gaps can be remedied, with a view to strengthening three parameters related to conditionality: accountability, enforcement, and effectiveness.
