NextGeneration EU: A better chance to spend European funds

19 janvier 2021 European Politics

5 min

“NextGeneration EU” is the Commission plan presented during the Covid-19 crisis to give financial aid to the Member States who lost more from the pandemic. The European bazooka of 750 billion euros should be made available by Spring 2021. However, even if this plan represents a big step for European solidarity, some concerns arise on the capacity of Member States to use these funds in an efficient way.

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The new agreement on the rule of law conditionality: a possible solution?

13 novembre 2020 European Politics

6 min

After years of institutional debate on how to combat rule of law backsliding within the European Union, the European Parliament has reached an agreement with the Council linking EU funds to rule of law compliance. This means that the European Union will stop funding those national governments that threaten the rule of law, with the aim to get them to respect fundamental values listed in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. This may not put an end to the problem the EU is currently facing vis-à-vis Hungary and Poland, but it represents a step torwards triggering further initiatives and maybe future reforms to the Treaties’ acquis.

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