The European Parliament launched a lawsuit Friday against the European Commission for a mechanism that allows the freezing of EU payments to member states which failed to respect the rule of law principles.

The mechanism in question links EU funds to the rule of law breaches. The lawsuit brought by the European Parliament will put countries including Poland and Hungary under investigation for potential violations. There is a risk of losing tens of billions of euros if found to be in breach.

The lawsuit will see if the European Commission has refused to enact the necessary mechanism that would freeze EU funding for member states who could be in breach of EU law to preserve the “rule of law.” Sanctions have already been placed on Poland in particular whereby the European Court of Justice ordered Poland to pay the equivalent of $1.2 million as a penalty for failing to acknowledge judicial reforms in the EU.

While the mechanism has been in place since January 2021, the move from the European Parliament comes as an attempt to cut funding to countries that undermine the rule of law affecting the bloc’s financial interest. The European Commission, however, has openly refused to use the mechanism until the European Court Justice ruled in the decision from Poland and Hungary over the mechanism’s legality.