Implementation of the rule of law conditionality regime

Amendments tabled for the plenary sitting on this text, in their own numbering series. This is a different set from the committee amendments tracked elsewhere on AmendEU, and is not counted in any of the site’s amendment totals.

1. Amendment 1PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital B a (new)
   Amendment

   Ba. whereas Article 4(2) TEU provides that the EU must respect the national identities of the Member States, inherent in their constitutional structures; whereas the Member States have not conferred on the EU the power to conduct a general review of constitutional rules;

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2. Amendment 2PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital B b (new)
   Amendment

   Bb. whereas the individual Member States hold the primary power to legislate and define policy in areas where the EU has either no competence or only a supporting, non-harmonising mandate, such as the structure of national education systems and curricula, the financing and organisation of the welfare state and health services, national defence policy and national foreign policy;

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3. Amendment 3PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital C a (new)
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   Ca. whereas freedom of expression and the right to information deserve appropriate protection in the EU; whereas a lack of transparency regarding media ownership and public funding, a lack of independence of editorials from commercial and political influence, and viability problems due to financial needs constitute a risk to the right to information; whereas the promotion of legal content moderation and fact-checking by non-independent associations constitutes an outright attack on freedom of expression;

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4. Amendment 4PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital F a (new)
   Amendment

   Fa. whereas the Commission President affirmed in a speech on 17 January 2024 that funds for Hungary had been suspended for political reasons regarding LGBTIQ ideology, academic freedom and asylum policy1a; _________________ 1a Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament plenary on the conclusions of the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023 and preparation of the special European Council meeting of 1 February 2024.

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5. Amendment 5PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital G a (new)
   Amendment

   Ga. whereas the former Commissioner entrusted with negotiating the anti-corruption framework for the rule of law reports is currently under investigation for money laundering and other corruption-related offences; whereas the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) taking part in the Commission’s annual rule of law report procedures were directly funded by the Commission and governments outside the EU; whereas the objectivity and impartiality of these reports are highly questionable;

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6. Amendment 6PfEMotion for a resolution · Recital G b (new)
   Amendment

   Gb. whereas the former Vice-President of the European Commission resigned from her rectorship at the College of Europe as a consequence of recent reports concerning an investigation into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training activities for diplomats, including allegations that may involve procurement fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest, and breaches of professional secrecy, constituting a serious loss of credibility regarding the application of the rule of law by the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies;

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7. Amendment 7PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 2 a (new)
   Amendment

   2a. Condemns in the strongest terms the instrumentalisation of rule of law conditionality for politically motivated ideological assaults on Member States; emphasises that in these assaults, the Commission has demonstrably utilised and financed NGOs and left-leaning media outlets through EU funds; demands, consequently, an immediate cessation of these attacks against national sovereignty, which are perpetrated through the misuse of rule of law conditionality;

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8. Amendment 8PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 5 a (new)
   Amendment

   5a. Notes with concern the Commission’s politically biased monitoring of rule of law benchmarks through the rule of law toolbox; calls on the Commission to refrain from politically motivated actions targeting right-wing, conservative governments or sanctions against Member States that are not in line with the Commission’s agenda; deplores the fact that the Commission is abusing rule of law conditionality to withhold EU funds from governments on a political basis and is thereby violating the principle of sincere cooperation enshrined in the Treaties; calls on the Commission to adhere to the principle of sincere cooperation with the governments of all Member States, irrespective of their polit…

   Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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9. Amendment 9PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 9 a (new)
   Amendment

   9a. Recalls that there is no legal definition of ‘rule of law’ in the TEU and that each Member State has its own definition, which may vary from one country to another, contributing to legal uncertainty; deplores the fact that this concept is used arbitrarily, in the absence of a definition and a legal basis;

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10. Amendment 10PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 13
    Current text

    13. Regrets that, following the entry into force of the Conditionality Regulation on 1 January 2021, the Commission did not immediately trigger Article 6(1) in reaction to ongoing severe violations of the principles of the rule of law in some Member States, which posed a serious risk to the EU’s financial interests; emphasises that in October 2021, following repeated calls on the Commission to act, Parliament launched an action against the Commission before the CJEU in accordance with Article 265 TFEU over its failure to act and apply the regulation; stresses that timely responses by the Commission, based on clear internal timelines, are essential for protecting the EU budget;

    Amendment

    13. Emphasises that in October 2021, following repeated calls on the Commission to act, Parliament launched an action against the Commission before the CJEU pursuant to Article 265 TFEU over its failure to act and apply the regulation, which was later withdrawn; recalls that this action clearly shows that Parliament’s political blackmailing led to the triggering of the rule of law procedure against some Member States;

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11. Amendment 11PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 14 a (new)
    Amendment

    14a. Expresses deep concern about the lack of transparency of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), especially regarding their funding; recalls ECA special report 35/2018, which highlighted the lack of transparency regarding the implementation of EU funds by NGOs; emphasises the consequent risk of money laundering and terrorist financing through non-profit organisations; recalls ECA special report 11/2025, which highlights that of more than 4 400 NGOs, 30 received more than 40 % of their total funding (i.e. EUR 3.3 billion) during the period 2014-2023, linking this to the intravenous dependence of certain NGOs on EU funding and, ultimately, with all that this implies for their activities an…

    Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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12. Amendment 12PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 17 a (new)
    Amendment

    17a. Recalls that ECA special report 03/2024 concluded that the Commission did not systematically assess and document the impact on the EU’s financial interests for all Member States in which it identified challenges to the rule of law;

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13. Amendment 13PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 18 a (new)
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    18a. Deplores the fact that the Commission assesses the application of the rule of law by the Member States only, and not by the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies themselves; underlines that there are plenty of alleged breaches of the rule of law by the EU institutions, not least by the Commission, that require proper scrutiny;

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14. Amendment 14PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 18 b (new)
    Amendment

    18b. Notes with concern recent revelations in the ‘green lobby scandal’ on the use of EU funds by the Commission to interfere with the EU legislative branch in seeking support for the European Green Deal; calls, in this regard, for a thorough investigation of the case, and for the recovery of all the taxpayers’ money that was unduly spent;

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15. Amendment 15PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 20 a (new)
    Amendment

    20a. Condemns the fact that the Commission has clearly demonstrated double standards for Member States when it comes to rule of law standards and has used it in a manner detrimental to Member States with conservative governments; notes that the Commission unfroze the EU funds for Poland following the election of a party belonging to the ruling European political family despite the fact that no new legislation had been adopted; strongly condemns the fact that leaders of right-wing parties have been banned from running for office and persecuted by lawfare; condemns the attempts to imprison political leaders for defending the borders of their respective countries; denounces the physical intimid…

    Excerpt — full text in the official PDF.
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16. Amendment 16PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 49 a (new)
    Amendment

    49a. Condemns the fact that in December 2022 the Commission decided to exclude Hungarian universities from the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes, which is disproportionate and harmful, causing Hungarian students, teachers and researchers to suffer a competitive disadvantage; highlights, in that regard, the fact that Hungarian universities’ use of and accountability for EU funds has been transparent for decades; deplores the fact that Hungarian universities have suffered enormous loss both in reputation and financially due to their inability to contract for tenders already won or submitted; calls on the EU institutions to immediately withdraw this discriminative decision;

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17. Amendment 17PfEMotion for a resolution · Paragraph 53 a (new)
    Amendment

    53a. Notes that the Commission’s annual rule of law report has shown clear political bias in recent years; regrets the fact that the report does not present an objective and substantiated picture of the rule of law situation in the Member States; highlights the fact that this report cannot serve as a basis for any further EU mechanisms or procedures; deplores the fact that the Commission includes inputs from NGOs funded by the EU itself and, more worryingly, in some cases by non-EU governments when drafting its annual rule of law report;

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