In Poland, 89% of the respondents believe it is vital for all EU member states to respect the fundamental values of the Union, including the rule of law – as per the Eurobarometer survey. Despite much discussion about violations of the rule of law over the past five years, also in Poland, 62% of Poles regard themselves as well informed about the rule of law. The European Commission launched an EU-wide awareness campaign on this topic at the end of October. The latest EC report indicates that the Union is increasingly successful in handling challenges in the area of rule of law violations.
“Rule of law is a pillar of the European Union, it underpins the entire integration, all EU policies. Without observing the rule of law principles, we cannot function within the common European Union,” Michał Wawrykiewicz, a Member of the European Parliament from the Civic Coalition, told the Newseria Biznes news agency. “Therefore, the European Commission has in recent years, since countries such as Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and Kaczyński’s Poland strongly and decisively undermined the rule of law, been preparing an annual report on the rule of law, indicating in which EU country, and this concerns all 27 countries, there are any shortcomings, neglect or clear breaches of the rule of law.”
Since 2020, the European Commission has annually published in July a report on the state of the rule of law in individual commonwealth countries. This year, in its fifth report, it also paid attention to four candidate countries: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The EC concluded that the EU is significantly better prepared than five years ago to detect and resolve new rule of law issues and prevent them. This according to the report’s authors signifies a better condition of European democracy, mutual trust in the EU, good functioning of the single market, and a business environment conducive to competitiveness and sustainable economic growth. The report asserts that countries have fully or partially implemented 68% of the 2023 recommendations, yet some country systemic problems persist, and the situation has further deteriorated.
The European Commission assesses the situation in four areas: judicial reform, anti-corruption framework, media freedom and pluralism, and institutional checks and balances.
“The biggest challenges within the scope of protecting rule of law are to ensure the independence of the judiciary in each country, respect for constitutional principles. This is because an independent judiciary is the only protection for citizens against the power of the state, against violations by the state against citizens. Only in independent courts can a citizen find protection,” says Michał Wawrykiewicz. “But independent courts are also the only control for those in power, without independent courts, without this control, those in power can do virtually whatever they want.”
The EC emphasized in its July report that judicial reforms remained one of the political priorities – many member states undertook actions related to the 2023 recommendations, implementing previously agreed reforms. Several countries initiated or continued important reforms aimed at strengthening the judiciary’s independence, yet some systemic problems with judicial independence persist, and in certain cases, the situation has worsened. This year’s report recommends that member states address challenges such as the need for safeguards in judicial appointment procedures, both to lower courts and high judicial offices, prosecutorial autonomy or the need to provide adequate resources for the judiciary, including in terms of remuneration.
“The European Union has instruments that protect the entire Community against countries, governments, that violate the rule of law. This is primarily the procedure from Art. 7 of the Treaty on European Union, a procedure that was applied for the first time in the history of the European Union against the Kaczyński government in Poland, but then was also initiated by the European Parliament against Hungary,” the MEP recalls. “This is a procedure that can result in removing essentially all of a member state’s rights within the European Union. The European Union also has an infringement procedure, i.e. complaints to the European Union Court of Justice, which may be filed by the Commission. This can end with a judgment and imposition of financial sanctions, aimed at restoring a state of compliance with the law. It also has the ability to use the conditionality mechanism, i.e. withholding funds against a country violating the rule of law principles.”
As announced by EC President Ursula von der Leyen in her policy guidelines for 2024-2029, the Commission will continue to improve monitoring and reporting and enhance rule of law control mechanisms. It also wants to include the single market area – issues related to rule of law affecting businesses, particularly small and medium-sized ones conducting cross-border operations, will be examined.
A special Eurobarometer survey conducted earlier this year indicates that 72% of EU residents agree that the Union plays an important role in helping to maintain the rule of law in their country (in Poland, this rate stood at 75%). Nearly one in nine respondents believes it is important for member states to respect the EU’s fundamental values, including the rule of law (in Poland, 82%). Support for this postulate has remained stable since 2019. In many countries, access to information about the EU’s fundamental values has significantly improved: overall, 51% of Union residents feel well informed about the fundamental values and rule of law in the EU, compared to 43% in 2019. The European Commission, launching a new information campaign on this topic, aims for this percentage to be even higher.
“The rule of law principle is often perceived as a distant, lofty concept that many people find hard to understand. Although it defines who we are and what unites us as Europeans, we usually think about rule of law only when something goes wrong. The campaign aims to help everyone understand what the rule of law principle means, how much we rely on it every day, and why it is important to prevent dishonesty and injustice. Inspired by the world of sport, the superb animations by Christoph Niemann allow everyone to relate to the principles of the rule of law,” said Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice quoted in the release.
