EU executive probes whether Poland, Hungary should get EU money

FILE PHOTO: EU flags flutter in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has started a long-awaited probe into whether Poland and Hungary should continue to receive billions of euros from the EU budget because of problems with corruption and the rule of law.

Commission documents on Saturday showed letters were sent to Warsaw and Budapest on Friday asking governments for clarifications under a recent EU law allowing the suspension of EU cash if it may be misspent.