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Euronews
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Rule of law deteriorates across the EU, report finds
While the situation varies from one member state to another, there is a broad and fundamental trend towards rule of law encountering severe challengers over the past few years, the Liberties Rule of Law report reveals. The 1,000-page report — published on Monday by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe advocacy group — is released annually, with its sixth iteration released this year being the result of collaboration between 43 human rights organisations from 21 EU countries. One of the most striking conclusions drawn from the organisation's research is the persistence of reported violations and the overarching deterioration of the rule of law across the EU. While individual countries exhibit variations, the broader observation is that all fundamental aspects of the rule of law – namely, the justice system, anti-corruption measures, media freedom, checks and balances, civic space and human rights – have encountered similar and deepening challenges over the past few years. This clearly highlights persistent and systemic deficiencies in the rule of law across the bloc. "We see a large number of countries where the rule of law continues to decline, most notably in Italy, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary," Viktor Z Kazai, senior rule of law expert at the Civil Liberties Union for Europe and one of the authors of the report, told Euronews. "The reason behind this is because the EU is not strong enough in its responses to rule of law decline. If rule of law violations are permitted, even tacitly, it encourages government leaders to further deteriorate the rule of law," Kazai added The "stagnators" are countries that remained static or made minimal progress in their rule of law indicators. Greece, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands and Spain belong to this group. The "sliders" are model democracies like Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, demonstrating isolated but troubling declines in certain areas. The "dismantlers" are countries where the rule of law is systematically and intentionally undermined in almost all areas, with this group comprising of Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia. The weakest link, and repeat offender, was found to be Hungary. Some countries displayed marked attempts at improving the state of the rule of law domestically. The 'hard workers,' Estonia and the Czech Republic, showed signs of genuine and systemic efforts at making improvements, highlighting the successful role of civil society in creating positive change. Poland, meanwhile, is considered a "cautionary tale" as the new government has attempted to restore judicial independence and media pluralism without achieving major progress, illustrating that addressing the compromised independence of institutions is a highly challenging and fragile endeavour. According to the report, it is crucial that the European Commission links the annual rule of law report with rule of law enforcement mechanisms, such as Article 7 infringement proceedings for member states that fail to respect European values or EU conditionality. The justice system still suffers from political manipulation, insufficient resources and barriers to legal aid, all of which undermine its independence, quality and efficiency, according to the report. The big picture also shows that in the realm of fighting corruption, there is a persistent lack of transparency, weak law enforcement and inadequate protection of whistleblowers, leading to an erosion of trust in government integrity. Media freedom remains under threat in many countries, as political influence compromises the independence of regulatory bodies and concentrated ownership stifles pluralism, with journalists facing increasing harassment and legal challenges. Checks and balances are further weakened by the overuse of fast-track legislative processes, political interference in independent authorities and compromised integrity of the electoral system, all eroding democratic and legal control over the government. Furthermore, civic spaces have continued to shrink as widespread smear campaigns embolden governments to adopt restrictive laws, in particular when it comes to the right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly and association. Finally, human rights are under increasing pressure due to stricter migration policies, inadequate protection for vulnerable groups, and rising discrimination and hate speech impacting minorities across the region. As the report's authors note, these internal challenges are unfolding against a shifting geopolitical landscape, with the rise of far-right populism and democratic backsliding in the US and global conflicts shaping Europe's political trajectory. The far-right's growing influence threatens EU unity, while Russia's war on Ukraine and declining transatlantic support for European security test the bloc's resilience. Migration policies are becoming more hardline, with states tightening borders and restricting asylum rights, often in violation of international law. Meanwhile, the EU's enforcement mechanisms remain weak, which has allowed illiberal trends to fester rather than send a clear message on the centrality of the rule of law and fundamental rights. Without decisive action, the EU risks further democratic erosion, internal fragmentation and weakened global standing. 'As far-right populism rises and democracy backslides in the US, Europe's rule of law crisis deepens. Growing far-right influence threatens EU unity, while Russia's war in Ukraine and rapidly transforming transatlantic ties test the bloc's resilience," the report stated. "To safeguard the EU and the rules-based world, the European Commission must strengthen rule of law enforcement - linking it directly to Article 7, budgetary conditionality and infringement proceedings.'
The Guardian
17-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Italy one of five ‘dismantlers' causing ‘democratic recession' in Europe, report says
Italy's government has profoundly undermined the rule of law with changes to the judiciary and showed 'heavy intolerance to media criticism', in an emblematic example of Europe's deepening 'democratic recession', a coalition of civil liberties groups has said. A report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said Italy was one of five 'dismantlers' – along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia – that 'intentionally undermine the rule of law in nearly all aspects'. In Hungary, long classified as an 'electoral autocracy', researchers detected 'significant regression' in the rule of law in 2024. Pressure on non-governmental groups and media intensified after the launch of Hungary's sovereignty protection office, which has broad powers to investigate Hungarians active in public life. 'Europe's democratic recession has deepened in 2024,' Liberties said in a statement. The report, shared with the Guardian before publication, highlighted judicial systems subject to political manipulation, weak law enforcement against corruption, overuse of fast-track legislative procedures, harassment of journalists and growing restrictions on peaceful protests. 'Without decisive action, the EU risks further democratic erosion,' the report – compiled by 43 human rights organisations in 21 EU member states – concluded. Liberties began the annual exercise in 2019 to shadow the European Commission's rule of law reports, which are meant to serve as a democratic health check on EU member states. The NGO's six reports showed 'the alarming persistence of rule of law violations throughout the European Union,' said Viktor Kazai, senior rule of law expert at Liberties. 'All fundamental aspects of the rule of law have faced increasingly severe problems in the past few years,' he added, while the EU's attempts to reverse the decline had been 'disappointingly limited'. 'The most worrying category of countries' were the 'dismantlers', Kazai said, governments that were taking steps to undermine the rule of law. In Italy, researchers highlighted how Giorgia Meloni's government had drafted proposals to give 'open-ended powers' to the justice ministry over prosecutors, which would increase political control over the judiciary. The Italian contributors also flagged 'unprecedented levels of interference in public service media', such as the cancellation of the author Antonio Scurati's 'anti-fascist manifesto' and the disciplinary case opened against the host of the talkshow in which the speech was to have been performed. In Bulgaria, the report looked at how anti-corruption investigations were launched against prominent political opponents of the government, while long-running schemes – such as the dumping of construction waste in the Sofia municipality – continued. In Slovakia, red flags have been raised about numerous changes introduced by the government of the nationalist populist Robert Fico, including the abolition of the office of the central prosecutor and a 'Russia-style' foreign agents bill that would require NGOs to bear the stigmatising label of 'foreign-supported organisation' if they receive more than €5,000 (£4,200) from outside the country. In Croatia, the integrity of the justice system was seen as damaged, after the elevation to the position of state attorney general of Ivan Turudić, a judge with close links to the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HSZ) party. The European public prosecutor's office has complained of 'Croatia's systemic challenges in upholding the rule of law', after Turudić's office appeared to challenge EPPO's right to investigate a suspected case of fraud against the EU budget. In Romania, recent presidential elections revealed how TikTok could allow a little-known ultranationalist to surge to victory, while a bill to secure the independence of public service TV and radio has been languishing in parliament since 2021. The report authors also warned that 'role-model democracies', including France and Germany, in north-western Europe were not immune to problems. In France, researchers warned about the growing use of the article 49.3 procedure to push through decisions without a vote, as well as increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, introduced before the Olympics or to counter foreign interference. In Germany, researchers praised stronger rules designed to combat 'revolving doors', where senior officials take up jobs in sectors they recently regulated. But they raised concerns about 'excessive and disproportionate' responses to pro-Palestinian events, including censoring pro-Palestinian voices or denying entry to the country to the Greek former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who had been invited to speak at such an event. Last April police shut down what would have been a three-day Palestinian conference in Berlin, fearing it would give a platform to antisemitic views. Poland, which is attempting to roll back the assault on independent institutions, was described as a cautionary tale. The coalition government led by Donald Tusk has sought to restore judicial independence and media pluralism, but has run into conflict with the president, Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the previous ruling party, as well as the complexities of unpicking compromised institutions. Poland 'illustrates that addressing the compromised independence of institutions is an extremely challenging and fragile endeavour', Liberties said. The NGO is calling on the European Commission to toughen up the EU monitoring exercise by linking it to the release of EU funds, as well as accelerated legal action for violations of the rule of law.
