A few thoughts on the #EUCO outcome on the #RuleOfLaw amid general confusion about what the oracle actually revealed: (1/7)

Text was made ambiguous to allow everyone to save face and thus enable agreement. As much is clear from the PR offense conducted both in Brussels and at home by Hungary and Poland. But with the PR moment subsiding, what Orban et al say is increasingly less important. 2/7

What matters now are the concrete steps that will follow. There are many open questions, but @EU_Commission should start by building support for its original reverse QMV proposal. Without explicit concession of this ground in #EUCO, this idea should still be on the table. 3/7

The @Europarl_EN has already indicated that budgetary conditionality is atop its list of priorities. If possible, trilogues on this file should resume without delay. I am convinced a compromise text could be agreed that would satisfy a qualified majority of Member States. 4/7

At some point, annual monitoring of rule of law was mentioned as a potential replacement for conditionality. This is out of question. I recently proposed a comprehensive and legally binding monitoring cycle, but it is merely complementary to conditionality. 5/7

As also proposed by my @RenewEurope colleagues, conditionality should be "smart". Suspending EU funding should minimize negative impact on individual beneficiaries, in particular NGOs, who committed no financial transgressions. 6/7

So three elements to strive for: 1) budgetary conditionality with reverse QMV; 2) a robust monitoring cycle that consolidates and complements existing tools; and 3) measures to mitigate damage to civil society when funding is suspended. Let's make use of the momentum. 7/7