Germany proposes tying EU funds to support for rule of law

BERLIN – Germany wants the European Union to cut funding for countries that don’t meet the bloc’s principles when it comes to human rights and democracy.

A spokeswoman for the economy ministry says it has written a proposal to make adherence to the rule of law a factor when deciding whether countries get money from the EU’s cohesion fund.

The fund is intended to help poorer countries attain the same standards as the rest of the EU and has a budget of 63.4 billion euros ($71.1 billion) for the period 2014-2020.

Tanja Alemany told reporters Wednesday “the foundation of the EU’s credibility is adherence to its basic values.”

Both the Polish and Hungarian governments have been criticized by the European Commission for eroding the independence of the media, courts and other institutions.