Hungary, Poland threatened with deprivation of subsidies from EU

The EU Court of Justice has ruled that the EU has the right to suspend subsidy payments to member states if they violate the principles of the rule of law.

Report informs that thus the suits of Hungary and Poland against Brussels-based institutions of the EU were rejected.

"The court completely rejects the claims of Hungary and Poland... The European Union must be able to defend democratic values within its powers," the EU court said in a statement released on Wednesday.

The court ruling allows the European Commission to discuss and decide on the suspension of payments, of which Hungary and Poland are major recipients, which significantly contributes to their economic development.

As Interfax reports, these new members of the European Union have been criticized by EU bodies for many years. Budapest and Warsaw were accused of undermining the independence of the judiciary and the media and violating some other democratic principles. The EU found it unable to change the political course of the two countries and decided to resort to financial leverage.

"The court clarifies that, firstly, the observance of these values cannot be reduced to an obligation that a candidate state must fulfill in order to join the EU, and can be ignored after accession," the court said in a statement.