Pauline Thinus is a PhD researcher at the Institute for European Studies (IEE/CEVIPOL) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium). She conducts a comparative case study on the application of rule of law spending conditionality instruments in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia during the 2021-2027 budgetary period. Previously, she held academic positions at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and at the University of Szeged (Hungary).