The top adviser to the European Union’s highest court on Thursday said that the principle of linking the bloc’s budget disbursements to respect for rule of law is compatible with the bloc’s laws and that a challenge by Hungary and Poland should be dismissed.

The right-wing governments of both nations had argued that such action lacked a proper legal basis. Both nations, large recipients of EU funds, have come under increasing criticism over the past few years for veering away from the Western principles of the respect for rule of law in their nations.

The advice to the court precedes a full court decision, which is expected within the coming months.

The EU Commission said it took note of the advice but did not go into details.

Linking the distribution of funds to democratic principles was a key part of the EU’s decision last year to push through a massive subsidy program for the 27 member nations to overcome the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Advocate General Manuel Campos Sanchez-Bordona advised that the link was “adopted on an appropriate legal basis ... and respects the principle of legal certainty.”

The court said in a statement that “compliance with the principles of the rule of law may be vitally important for the sound operation of public finances and the proper implementation of the Union budget.”

Government officials in both Hungary and Poland rejected the opinion, arguing that the court was overstepping its authority in approving a new mechanism that is not described in the EU’s own treaties.