EU’s New Weapon in Rule-of-Law Battle With Poland, Hungary: Money

BRUSSELS—The European Union has started withholding resources from Poland and Hungary, escalating the struggle more than democratic expectations that is deepening the East-West divide in the bloc.

The EU and most governments in its Western region are worried about legal modifications by Poland and Hungary that they imagine are eroding the rule of legislation, weakening judicial independence, and breaching human legal rights. They are particularly alarmed by an effort by Warsaw to assert the primacy of Polish legislation more than EU legislation and court choices.

The two nations, which are between the major internet recipients of European revenue, say the strain from Brussels signifies an ideological attack on their values and an attempt by unelected officials to curtail the legal rights of member nations to condition their individual political systems and guidelines.

The EU has had disputes for years with Poland and Hungary more than issues this kind of as homosexual legal rights, which are sizzling-button subject areas in several previous communist nations. Conservative voters and politicians in the region have argued that considering that signing up for the bloc in 2004, Brussels has progressively used its powers to impose Western European social values more than local norms.

The European Commission’s combat with Poland more than judicial independence is separate from these disputes. Brussels officials argue that Poland’s attempts to disregard EU court choices and problem legislation could set precedents that undermine bloc-vast rules—such as those governing the single market—and defang the supranational courts that law enforcement EU legislation.