EU will use budget tool against member states

Close attention: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels. EU leaders will meet this Thursday and Friday to likely discuss sanctions against member states. — Reuters

LUXEMBOURG: The European Union (EU), as soon as this week, may trigger a new tool that allows it to withhold budget payments to member states that fail to adhere to the bloc’s democratic standards.

The so-called conditionality mechanism came into force this year and hasn’t yet been used by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. If utilised, the mechanism could freeze billions of euros in budgetary payments bound for member states.