On Thursday the European Parliament’s vote revealed a split between Western, Central and Eastern European lines. The move could consequently cost Hungary and Poland tens of millions as they are the biggest recipients of EU aid. The proposal came as the bloc’s executive discussed a joint budget for 2021-27.
The Hungarian government said these new rules will surely lead to “conflicts in Europe”.
Reported in Politico, they also said this was “yet another attempt to punish Central Europe.”
Co-rapporteur of the report and Finnish European People’s Party MEP Petri Sarvamaa said: “The notable thing about the mood in the plenary is the division between those member states where the state of the rule of law has already been questioned and the rest.”
The vote has been seen as a way for the Commission to pressure countries like Hungary and Poland, which have been said to not adhere to the bloc’s values.
In September last year MEPs asked the European Council to conclude whether Hungary was at risk of breaching EU values.
The MEPs raised concerns about Hungary’s institutions which included problems with he electoral system, independence of the judiciary and respect of citizens rights and freedoms.
The European Parliament voted 397 in favour of a report on the proposal, with 158 against and 69 abstained.
Mr Sarvamaa said after the vote the regulation would treat all member states equally.
Eurosceptic MEPs said the Commission created the proposal to intervene in domestic politics in a debate on Wednesday.
The vote left Budapest raging.
Szabolcs Takács, Minister of State for EU Policies, said on Twitter: “Hungary cannot be blackmailed into giving up her stance on migration. Today’s EP vote on the MFF RuleofLaw proposal is yet another attempt to punish Central Europe with obvious political intention and will only lead to further conflicts in the EU.”
Concerns were raised by MEPs who warned the proposal and cuts in funding would make it hard for the EU to avoid harming students and researchers.
The EPP, despite including Hungary prime minister Viktor Orban’s party in its ranks, supports the proposal but the MEPs were split.
In total 139 voted in favour, 24 voted against and 40 did not vote.
Members of the EPP who voted against the proposal were MEPs from Hungary and Hungarian-speaking MEPs from Romania.
EPP MEPs from Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia also voted against the proposal according to Politico.
The Councils legal service and some member governments raised concerns that the proposal replicated the bloc’s Article 7 rule-of-law sanctioning mechanism.
Article 7 establishes preventative and sanctioning mechanisms that aim to enforce European Union values if a member state is thought to have violated them.
Commissioner Günther Oettinger said: “The current definition of the scope of the proposal provides for a proper balance between the (budget) and other aspects of the Union mechanism, for example, Article 7 of our Treaty.”
Mr Oettinger added: “It’s not a question of sanctions per se, it’s a question of the protections of the European money.”
“If there is a financial penalty, it must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence or breach of the principles of the rule of law.”