site.btaEuropean Commission Envisages Further Strengthening Link between EU Funds, Rule of Law

The European Commission envisages further strengthening links between EU budget funds and the rule of law, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law Michael McGrath told MEPs on Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs - Working Group DRFMG on Tuesday.

He noted that the European Commission is working on a new report on the rule of law in the EU and will present it in July. In his words, the current budgetary rules still contain gaps related to the implementation of the report's recommendations and this needs to change.

The report gives a comprehensive and fair assessment, with equal treatment of the individual EU countries, the Commissioner said. He added that the new report will include an assessment of how the rule of law affects companies' activities. The rule of law and good governance are prerequisites for EU funds to achieve their objectives, McGrath said.

On his trip to Sofia, the Commissioner said he had important talks with the Bulgarian authorities to make sure that last year's report recommendations would lead to concrete action. He noted the action taken by the Bulgarian authorities on the report and commented that these were steps in the right direction.