Renew Europe calls for reforms ensuring that the EU’s Conditionality Regulation is applied fairly and transparently across all Member States.
The conditionality regulation has almost been in place for five years but was only triggered once against Hungary in December 2022. As a result, Hungary has permanently lost 1 billion EUR in funding until this point. While the tool is effective, it could be improved in some areas.
Decisions on using unspent EU funds should be taken by the EU’s budget-makers during the annual budget process, not left to the Commission to decide on its own. Renew Europe reaffirms that EU funds must always serve citizens' interests.
Any attempt to manipulate this mechanism for political gain is wrong. Stronger democratic oversight to ensure accountability and trust is key. Renew Europe stands for a fair, transparent and citizen-focused European budget where every euro is spent in line with the Union's shared values and the rule of law.
Moritz Körner MEP (FDP, DE) and Vlad Vasile-Voiculescu (USR, RO) led the negotiations on behalf of the group.
Körner expressed his views on the issue:
“We are pleased to have secured that Parliament’s deal sets a clear, hard-line stance: Europe needs a powerful rule-of-law mechanism covering the entire EU budget, with no carve-outs or loopholes. It calls for strict conditions on funding and immediate freezing of funds the moment a government backslides. As liberals and democrats, we insist on the fact that Parliament must have an equal voice in every enforcement decision and refuse to let governments police themselves.”
Vasile-Voiculescu continued:
“The Conditionality Regulation works, Hungary showed that clearly, but its enforcement has been too slow and too inconsistent. The Commission should have acted from day one. To restore credibility, we need a system that is rigorous, transparent and completely impartial, no matter who governs a Member State. And we must protect final beneficiaries, local communities, NGOs, universities, businesses, from being punished for their governments’ failures, while systemic breaches, must trigger swift and proportionate action to safeguard the EU budget.”