Rule of law and the general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget
As EU heads of State and government prepare to meet at the European Council on 10-11 December to discuss the Union’s budget, including a 750 billion-euro recovery package aimed at helping member states address the economic damage caused by the pandemic, NGOs demand that EU values — including the rule of law and respect for human rights — not be up for negotiation.
In a letter addressed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel — the head of state now holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU — 13 human rights and transparency organisations, many of which are umbrella organisations representing large segments of European civil society, called on the German government, and other member states’ governments, not to compromise on the Union’s core principles, but to uphold them by protecting the EU budget from breaches of the rule of law and refusing to bow to pressure from leaders who have consistently violated them.