Brussels Edition: Eastern Defiance

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

It's been a while coming, but Poland and Hungary have now filed their long-awaited challenges at the EU’s top court to measures targeting rule-of-law violations. It adds another dimension to a growing list of legal disputes over their failure to comply with the bloc’s rules. The eastern nations have long been at odds with Brussels, leading to repeated lawsuits and judgments rebuking Poland over its judicial overhaul or Hungary over its asylum policy. They are the only two EU nations for years to face a procedure that could lead to the suspension of voting rights. The latest action is different though: They question the validity of a powerful new tool in the bloc’s landmark stimulus package that ties EU funds to upholding democratic norms. The mechanism could, if upheld by the court, have real teeth for the first time.