GOOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW IN THE EU: THE CONDITIONALITY MECHANISM FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE EU BUDGET

On February 16, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeals of Hungary and Poland requesting the annulment of Regulation 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget, considering that it was adopted in accordance with an adequate legal basis and did not violate the principles of legal certainty, equal treatment between Member States or the principle of proportionality, among others. By ruling for the first time on the financial conditionality mechanism, the CJ has clarified the interpretive parameters on the application of Regulation 2020/2092 and has given free rein to the possible activation of this instrument configured to protect the budget of the European Union and promote the observance and respect by its Member States of the values of the Rule of Law enshrined in art. 2 TUE.