The "conditionality" Regulation under the ECJ's scrutiny: a constitutional analysis

On 16 February 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in plenary composition on the actions for annulment brought by Hungary and Poland against Regulation 2020/2092. The ECJ upheld the Regulation, affirming its compatibility with the Treaties and European Union (EU) law. In doing so the Court deliver two judgments of seminal constitutional meaning for the European Union: building on its previous jurisprudence on EU principles and judicial independence, and on the basis of the text of the Regulation, the Court took this opportunity to further a systemic and normative understanding of the EU values of art.2 TEU, defining EU identity and setting a solid precedent for the protection of the EU values vis-à-vis the Member States that deliberately challenge those values. However, such constitutional relevance must be assessed within the limits of the EU: even in light of this possible transformation fostered by the decisions at hand, we must be aware that the EU can protect its own identity but only within the limits of the conferred competencies. The following commentary aims to address the constitutional implications of the conditionality judgments with regard to four main aspects that emerge from the decisions: the legal basis of the Regulation and the issue of EU conferred competencies; the constitutional implications of the decisions for the normative nature of the values of art.2 TEU; the link between solidarity and conditionality and finally, the future and general impacts of the decisions for the EU integration process.