EU taxpayers' money must not support governments breaching the rule of law

"We want the EU recovery money to reach those who have suffered during the pandemic. The Recovery Instrument was created to support people and businesses in Europe during this pandemic. Its purpose is to make our economies and societies more resilient. The EPP Group wants all national recovery plans to be rolled out as quickly as possible, but right now, it cannot be done. This instrument was not created to support governments that have the sole aim of bending the rules and breaching the rule of law. We owe this to our citizens and particularly to our taxpayers: if this instrument is to become a success story, there can be no single suspicion that funds are not adequately used", said Siegfried Mureşan MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group in charge of budgetary affairs.

"The European project means more than money and funds. It means values, principles and respect for the rule of law. National governments have a great responsibility in the proper use of Recovery Funds. But the Commission must be ready to monitor and analyse where, when and how each Euro is spent. We owe it to the citizens.”

“We will not tolerate the use of European funds to finance anti-European nationalist campaigns and even less to attack the individual rights enshrined in our Treaties and Constitutions. Governments that do not adhere to the core of the EU's principles and values must and will be sanctioned”, stressed Esteban González Pons MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group in charge of legal and home affairs.

Neither Poland nor Hungary have had their national recovery plans greenlighted. The European Commission maintains its serious concerns about the rule of law in both Member States.