IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v63y2025i2p548-563.html

The EU’s Transactional Approach to Rule of Law Spending Conditionality in the 2020s

Author

Listed:
  • Pauline Thinus

Abstract

Rule of law spending conditionality marks a turn in the EU’s strategy in the 2020s. The entry of this value into the budgetary sphere represents an economization process, creating room for the development of a transactional approach to rule of law compliance. This article defines this conceptual framework and examines the extent of its application through the case study of three budgetary instruments used during the 2021–2027 cycle: the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation and the horizontal enabling condition of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Contributing to the recent Europeanization literature, it also emphasizes the change in European governance and in the EU–Member State relationship triggered by the new conditionality culture following the succession of European crises, moving from a traditional politico‐legal enforcement model to a transactional one.

Suggested Citation

  • Pauline Thinus, 2025. "The EU’s Transactional Approach to Rule of Law Spending Conditionality in the 2020s," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 548-563, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:63:y:2025:i:2:p:548-563
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13620
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13620
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.13620?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alcidi, Cinzia & Gros, Daniel, 2017. "How to strengthen the European Semester?," CEPS Papers 13292, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    2. Stella Ladi & Sarah Wolff, 2021. "The EU Institutional Architecture in the Covid‐19 Response: Coordinative Europeanization in Times of Permanent Emergency," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(S1), pages 32-43, September.
    3. Schmidt, Vivien A., 2001. "Europeanization and the Mechanics of Economic Policy Adjustment," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 5, June.
    4. Lucas Schramm & Ulrich Krotz & Bruno De Witte, 2022. "Building ‘Next Generation’ after the pandemic: The implementation and implications of the EU Covid Recovery Plan," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(S1), pages 114-124, September.
    5. Radealli, Claudio M., 2000. "Whither Europeanization? Concept stretching and substantive change," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 4, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. George Kyris, 2013. "Europeanization beyond Contested Statehood: The European Union and Turkish-Cypriot Civil Society," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(5), pages 866-883, September.
    2. Mattia Guidi & Michele Piccinetti & Luca Verzichelli, 2023. "NextGenerationEU and the European Semester: Comparing National Plans and Country‐Specific Recommendations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 339-351.
    3. Janis KAPUSTANS, 2022. "Effectiveness of the European Union grants to civil society in the Baltic states: an evaluation of the EU program ‘Europe for Citizens’ (2007-2020)," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 13, pages 99-119, October.
    4. Mattia Guidi & Michele Piccinetti & Luca Verzichelli, 2023. "NextGenerationEU and the European Semester: Comparing National Plans and Country‐Specific Recommendations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 339-351.
    5. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:47:y:2009:i::p:1-24 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Adrian Favell & Virginie Guiraudon, 2009. "The Sociology of the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 10(4), pages 550-576, December.
    7. Henrik Scheller & Annegret Eppler, 2014. "European Disintegration – non-existing Phenomenon or a Blind Spot of European Integration Research? Preliminary Thoughts for a Research Agenda," Working Papers of the Vienna Institute for European integration research (EIF) 2, Institute for European integration research (EIF).
    8. Gaby Umbach & Igor Tkalec, 2021. "Social Investment Policies in the EU: Actively Concrete or Passively Abstract?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 403-414.
    9. Kataryna Wolczuk, 2004. "Integration without Europeanisation: Ukraine and its Policy towards the European Union," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 15, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    10. Gaby Umbach & Igor Tkalec, 2021. "Social Investment Policies in the EU: Actively Concrete or Passively Abstract?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 403-414.
    11. Sonja Bekker, 2021. "The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility: A Next Phase in EU Socioeconomic Governance?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 175-185.
    12. Wa’ed Alshoubaki & Ibrahim Rawabdeh & Ghazi Abuqauod & Sahem A. Nawafleh, 2025. "The Climate Change Policy Innovation in a Developing Country: A Study of Jordan’s Policy Landscape," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1749-1770, December.
    13. Wade Jacoby & Gabriel Lataianu & Camelia Lataianu, 2009. "Success in slow motion: The Europeanization of Romanian child protection policy," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 111-133, June.
    14. Kengyel, Ákos, 2024. "A 2027 utáni uniós költségvetési keretek kialakítását befolyásoló adottságok [Factors influencing the preparation of the post-2027 EU budget framework]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(12), pages 1381-1405.
    15. Tanja Börzel & Thomas Risse, 2000. "International Relations Theory and European Integration," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 56, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    16. Donatella della Porta & Manuela Caiani, 2006. "The Europeanization of Public Discourse in Italy," European Union Politics, , vol. 7(1), pages 77-112, March.
    17. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:48:y:2010:i::p:787-810 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Mark Aspinwall, 2009. "NAFTA‐ization: Regionalization and Domestic Political Adjustment in the North American Economic Area," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 1-24, January.
    19. Stefan Niederhafner, 2013. "Comparing functions of transnational city networks in Europe and Asia," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 377-396, December.
    20. Brüggemann, Michael & Kleinen von Königslöw, Katharina, 2007. "'Let's talk about Europe'. Explaining vertical and horizontal Europeanization in the quality press," TranState Working Papers 60, University of Bremen, Collaborative Research Center 597: Transformations of the State.
    21. repec:prg:jnlwep:v:2012:y:2012:i:2:id:4:p:65-82 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Štěpánka Zemanová & Radka Druláková, 2012. "Europeanization after Lisbon: Competencies, Governance and Domestic Changes in the Context of the new EU Primary Legislation [Evropeizace po Lisabonu: Kompetence, governance a domácí změny v kontextu nové úpravy primární legislativy EU]," Současná Evropa, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2012(2), pages 65-82.
    23. Petros Violakis, 2023. "Putting the Common Security and Defense Policy in the Eastern Mediterranean under Scrutiny: Türkiye’s Conflicting Role," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-23, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:63:y:2025:i:2:p:548-563. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.