Von der Leyen pledges to use rule-of-law tool next year

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday (16 December) pledged that the EU executive will apply the new rules on linking EU funds to respect for the rule of law, as MEPs voted to approve the new conditionality mechanism and the EU's next seven-year budget.

"It is path-breaking that for the first time the union equips itself with a mechanism to protect the budget against breaches of the principle of the rule of law," she said.

"In essence, as I understand it, the...