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The creation of guidelines for the application of the general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (continuation of debate)
Respect for the rule of law is an essential condition for the proper management of the European Union budget. If the rule of law is not respected, it is difficult to expect funds to be spent as intended. The temptation for corruption, including political corruption, is too great. That is why, at the end of last year, we adopted a regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget. To prevent such cases. But let us recall once again, because this is crucial – according to the Regulation, the protection of the interests of final recipients and beneficiaries must be ensured. Any suspension of payments shall not affect the obligations of the Member States towards those beneficiaries. Companies will not lose, organizations will not lose, local governments will not lose, people will not lose. They will lose governments that violate the rule of law. Governments and their courtiers. And that's how it should be, because they don't deserve the money. EU funds are for citizens of the European Union who respect EU values. And let us recall one more thing: we are talking about suspension of payments. As soon as the breaches of the rule of law are remedied, disbursements will start again. Anything that has not been paid will be paid. This is also extremely important, because autocrats build their narrative on the argument: Either us and the money, or neither us nor the money. And that's bullshit. It's the exact opposite.