The European Commission published last week its fifth annual Rule of Law Report, examining rule of law developments in all Member States.
In comparison to the findings in the first issue of the Rule of Law Report adopted in 2020, Member States and the EU as a whole are much better prepared to detect, prevent and address emerging challenges, according to the Commission. This contributes to the resilience of our European democracies, to mutual trust in the EU and to the functioning of the single market.
From the very start, the aim of the report was to enlarge the existing EU toolbox with a preventive tool and to kick-start an inclusive and open debate on the rule of law culture across the EU. It should help all member states examine how challenges can be addressed and learn from best practice in other countries.
The third report, in 2022, introduced specific recommendations addressed to each member state. Two thirds (68%) of the recommendations issued in 2023 have been, fully or partially, addressed. However, in some Member States systematic concerns remain and the situation has further deteriorated. These concerns are addressed in the recommendations of this year's report.
The recommendations are not binding and are intended to encourage member states to take forward ongoing or planned reforms and help them identify where improvements are needed. For a summary of the situation in each country and the recommendations, click here.
The concept of ‘rule of law’ includes principles such as legality, implying a transparent, accountable, democratic and pluralistic process for enacting laws; legal certainty; prohibiting the arbitrary exercise of executive power; effective judicial protection by independent and impartial courts, effective judicial review including respect for fundamental rights; separation of powers; and equality before the law.
As in previous reports, this report examines developments in four key areas or pillars for the rule of law: national justice systems, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and pluralism as well as other institutional checks-and balances.
Concerns in Member States
"The rule of law is the glue to our democracies and a safeguard of our rights," said Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency. "Without the rule of law our democracies and economies would be in shambles. We have been designing the rule of law toolbox for five years in line with our common values and today we are much better equipped to face the challenges.”
“Unfortunately, concerns remain in several Member States in different categories,” she added. “This means that even more work needs to be done to improve the independence of the judiciary, to effectively fight corruption and to improve the safety of journalists and civil society organisations."
As previously reported, Belgium is not spared criticism in the report. Belgium must do even more to provide its justice sector with enough staff and resources. Additional resources are needed because, despite major investments and other initiatives, deficits remain a challenge for the judiciary. Similar criticism was made in earlier versions of the report in 2020 and 2021.
This year's report includes, for the first time, country chapters on developments in the candidate countries Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia but without any country-specific recommendations. These will be issued in in the context of the annual Enlargement Package in Autumn.
The Commission believes that their inclusion in the report will support reform efforts to achieve ‘irreversible’ progress on democracy and the rule of law ahead of accession, and to guarantee lasting high standards after accession. This cannot be taken for granted as some member states have been backsliding on their rule of law reforms after they joined the EU.
According to a Special Eurobarometer survey published on the same day (24 July) as the rule of law report, 70 % of EU citizens agree that the Union plays an important role in helping to uphold the rule of law in their country. An overwhelming majority or 90% of the respondents consider it important that all EU Member States respect the core values of the EU.
While information about the EU’s fundamental values and rule of law has improved significantly in many countries, overall, only ca half of the respondents felt well informed about them.
Key aspects at national level
The rule of law report package includes a Communication looking at the situation in the EU as a whole and dedicated country reports on each member state. The main chapter of the Communication (chapter 3) deals with key aspects of the rule of law situation at national level.
Justice reforms
The reports states that some systemic concerns as regards judicial independence persist and specific cases of deterioration have been observed. in several Member States, remuneration of judges and prosecutors is a concern and has led to challenges to recruit qualified judicial personnel.
Anti-corruption frameworks
Corruption remains a serious concern for citizens and businesses in the EU. The report states that further action is needed to strengthen preventive frameworks, such as those governing lobbying and conflicts of interest and asset declaration rules, as well as to ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of corruption cases.
Media freedom and pluralism
Concerns persist in several Member States as regards the independent governance or financial stability of public service media broadcasters, transparency of media ownership, the right of access to public documents and the transparent and fair allocation of state advertising.
Institutional checks and balances
Challenges remain in several Member States, such as the excessive use of accelerated procedures or the overall quality of law-making, as well as in consultation of stakeholders. Civil society and human rights defenders have increasingly faced challenges, legal restrictions, and attacks, including systemic restrictions to their operations in certain Member States. This is a worrying trend noted already in the previous report.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
