This paper has been drafted to assist the European Parliament's Committees on Budgets (BUDG) and Budgetary Control (CONT) in the context of their work on an implementation report on the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation. Based on publicly available information, it provides an overview of EU reports and academic papers on the implementation of the Regulation. It examines three key interlinked concerns: (1) potential legal gaps in the Regulation; (2) the use of 'smart conditionality' to ensure that funds reach end beneficiaries; and (3) the links between the EU's rule of law reports and the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation. The paper also outlines how Parliament's recent resolutions and questions have addressed these three issues. Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP Read more