MNI BRIEF: EU Mulls Rule Of Law Sanctions Against Hungary

The EU Commission is mulling whether to trigger its new rule-of-law mechanism against Hungary for failings related to matters including judicial independence and media independence, said an EC spokesperson, adding that the mechanism remained "an instrument of last resort".

For the moment, Commission officials are preparing legal cases against Hungary as well as operational guidance for the implementation of the mechanism if triggered, the spokesperson said.

"We will not go ahead until we are sure that in terms of our toolbox that this is the right way to proceed," the spokesperson said.

Turning to Poland, whose Recovery Plan is still awaiting approval by the Commission, another spokesperson said that there was no update on the situation, with officials still analysing the latest reply from the Polish authorities regarding the country's rule of law breaches.

The conditionality mechanism was agreed by the EU as a means of securing European Parliament support for the approval of the EUR800 billion Next Generation EU Covid recovery programme, and provides a way of sanctioning any countries deemed to be disregarding EU principles on law and human rights.