Berlin Mulling Freeze on Funding for Member States Breaking EU Rules

The German government is considering making it possible for the European Commission to suspend cohesion funding, reserved for the poorer regions of Europe, for those bloc members that violate the EU rules, media reported on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Berlin wants to see if "receipt of EU cohesion funds can be linked to compliance with fundamental principles of the rule of law," a copy of position paper on future EU budget regulations read, as quoted by the Politico news outlet.

These regulations, if passed and enforced, might spell trouble for such countries as Poland and Hungary.

Earlier in May, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Hungary to abandon its tight regulations on asylum seekers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and suggested triggering of Article 7.1 of the EU Treaty, which would allow the European Council to look into the possible breach of EU laws. The punitive measures, if "a serious and persistent breach" is determined to have taken place, may include the suspension of the member state's voting rights.

Warsaw has also faced criticism from Brussels over its controversial reforms of the country's justice system.