A New Form of Competence Creep? Rule of Law Conditionality as a Case Study for Integration through Funding in the European Union

This article explores, through the lens of competence creep, the European Union’s (EU) growing reliance on financial conditionality to achieve its policy objectives and encourage reforms in its Member States. It focuses on the application of conditionality in enforcing the rule of law as a case study to examine the potential and shortcomings of integration through funding as a means to broaden the reach of EU law into areas where the Union has limited competence. To this end, it analyses three key instruments of rule of law conditionality: the Conditionality Regulation 2020/2092, Next Generation EU, and the Common Provisions Regulation. The article argues that spending conditionality represents a new form of competence creep and dissects its primary emerging components. It also highlights the constitutional implications of conditionality as a governance tool, advocating for increased scholarly attention to this matter.