Protection of the European Union’s financial interests – combating fraud – annual report 2024

Tabled by Gilles Boyer

3. Underlines that the rule of law is a cornerstone of the Removed: EU Added: EU, and is essential for protecting Removed: EU Added: the EU’s financial interests in all Member States; Added: emphasises that breaches have tangible implications for the EU budget, notably by weakening control systems, oversight mechanisms and judicial remedies; stresses that the rule of law conditionality mechanism must be applied where breaches directly affect the EU Removed: budget; Added: budget, including at an early stage; underlines that decisions to protect EU financial interests must be based on technical and legal Removed: findings; Added: findings and must not be subject to bargaining, in particular under the threat of blocking decisions requiring unanimity in the Council; calls for a consistent and proportionate application of the mechanism; recalls that frozen EU funds should only be released once the necessary reforms have been fully implemented and compliance with the rule of law is ensured; warns that any reallocation or redeployment of such funds entails risks and calls on the Commission to Removed: ensure consistent and proportionate use of the mechanism, while respecting Member States’ primary responsibility for upholding rule of law principles and ensuring coherence across EU instruments; Added: prevent any circumvention of the Conditionality Regulation;

Wording as published by the EP, in English. PE783.022v01-00