The new seven-year budget framework proposed by the European Commission will include a mechanism dangerous to the member states. “In cases of violations [of the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights], the EC will have an instrument allowing it to suspend payments in whole or in part and ultimately also to relocate funds. (…) In other words, member states would be kept on a short EU budgetary leash,” noted Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, the President’s Advisor for European Affairs. The system is to be overseen by EU Commissioner Michael McGrath, who recently praised cooperation with the current Polish government and encouraged it to break the law. “There are also other mechanisms, including non-legislative initiatives, which can be used at a certain level to implement reforms,” McGrath said regarding legal changes in Poland.
The European Commission has for many years sought to tighten the rules of the so-called conditionality mechanism, which would make the disbursement of EU funds to member states dependent on compliance with, among other things, an arbitrarily interpreted rule of law.
According to Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, former MEP and Advisor to the President, in the new EU budget for 2028–2034 the European Commission “wants to make the disbursement of EU funds to member states conditional on the observance of the so-called rule of law.”
In July 2025, the EC published a proposal concerning the new budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework, and is now awaiting the decision of the European Parliament and the unanimous approval of the European Council.
“The conditionality regulation from the current MFF would be transferred to the new MFF and would continue to apply, but in a modified form. Its generalization means that its application would be extended to all EU funds and applied arbitrarily in relation to any violations of the so-called rule of law defined by the EC. The Commission wants to strengthen its power over member states, changing and centralizing the EU’s system beyond the Treaties in order to build a European state in place of a community of sovereign states. In addition to common debt and EU taxes, it wants to add a conditional mechanism for managing the EU budget,” warned Saryusz-Wolski.
The presidential advisor emphasized that the European Commission “wants to force member states” to adopt reforms proposed by Brussels “regardless of the democratic choices of their citizens.” To this end, it plans to use mechanisms already tested through the National Recovery Plans (KPO). “A key element of this plan is the complete and revolutionary restructuring of the EU fund system through the introduction of new national and regional partnership plans modeled on the NRPs. The EC plans to radically overhaul the two largest EU policies: the Common Agricultural Policy and the Cohesion Policy. About 540 existing programs would be reduced to 27 so-called National and Regional Partnership Plans. The disbursement of around €800 billion would now depend on the implementation of national reforms approved by the Union,” explained Jacek Saryusz-Wolski.
A new requirement would be the observance of the principles of the so-called rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
“In the case of violations, the EC will have an instrument allowing it to suspend payments in whole or in part and ultimately also to relocate funds. This cunning and disastrous plan provides that since EU funds will be tightly linked to national budgetary funds based on the principle of additionality, the relatively small EU budget tail will wag the large national budgetary dog, and indirectly, the policy of the member state. In other words, member states would be kept on a short EU budgetary leash,” wrote the former MEP.
The mechanism is also described on the European Commission’s website:
The general conditionality system for protecting the EU budget (also known as the conditionality regulation) will continue to safeguard the entire EU budget.
National and regional partnership plans will provide additional safeguards – compliance with the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights will become a prerequisite for receiving any support:
- To have their plans approved, member states must demonstrate that they have mechanisms ensuring compliance with the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights throughout the implementation period.
- It will be possible to block part or all of the funds at any stage of implementation, in line with the principle of proportionality, taking into account the nature, duration, seriousness, and scope of the violation identified.
- Member states will have to correct the violations within a reasonable timeframe – otherwise, EU support for them may be reduced.
McGrath – the EU Sheriff
Saryusz-Wolski pointed out that the mechanism will be managed by Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, “who is already cooperating closely and placing great hopes in Minister Żurek.”
McGrath recently laid out his plan to link fund disbursement to compliance with the rule of law in an interview with Deutsche Welle: “The key thing is that the rule of law is not an optional extra. It is a binding commitment and the core of EU membership. The Commission will therefore continue to monitor the independence of judicial systems, the independence and freedom of the media, the robustness of anti-corruption systems, and the democratic checks and balances,” said the EU Commissioner.
“We believe that by building a stronger link between the rule of law and access to funds, we will strengthen our ability to ensure respect for the rule of law in all EU countries and in all its aspects. That’s exactly what President von der Leyen promised,” he added.
EU Commissioner: “There Are Non-Legislative Mechanisms”
Asked whether he had heard any response from the Polish government to the proposal to strengthen the conditionality mechanism, Michael McGrath avoided a direct answer. Pressed by Deutsche Welle on what would happen if “the new Polish president blocked attempts to reform institutions and the law” and Poland “once again found itself under Article 7 of the EU Treaty,” the Commissioner replied: “I think the most important thing is that we see continued engagement by the Polish government in reforming the rule of law and implementing the action plan in this area. I will hold a number of discussions on these matters. My team and I in the Commission are ready to support the Polish authorities in their efforts. Some progress has been made, which in my view has been fairly reflected in the Rule of Law Report, but we have also issued recommendations for actions that still need to be taken.”
He added that the EC “must see further progress.” “We will therefore continue to cooperate with and support the Polish government, including the Minister of Justice,” McGrath declared.
When the journalist suggested that there is “a difference between engagement and legislation,” the EU Commissioner stated that “there are also other mechanisms, including non-legislative initiatives, which can be used at a certain level to implement reforms.” “The Polish authorities understand their country’s constitutional and institutional framework better than anyone, and for the Commission, the most important thing is that the government presents a plan and implements actions necessary to make progress on various rule-of-law issues,” said Michael McGrath.
On September 29, McGrath met with Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek. Żurek assured during the meeting that Poland “is consistently implementing its Rule of Law Action Plan.”