From bad to worse? On the Commission and the Council’s rule of law initiatives

The rule of law is one of the fundamental values on which the EU is founded according to Article 2 TEU. Faced with a rising number of ‘rule of law crises’ in a number of EU countries, the European Commission adopted a new ‘pre-Article 7’ procedure in March 2014 in order to address any instance where there is a evidence of a systemic threat to the rule of law.

Having criticised the Commission’s initiative primarily on the (unconvincing) ground that it would breach the principle of conferral which governs the allocation of powers between the EU and its Member States, the Council proposed its own solution: a rule of law dialogue between national governments and to be held once a year in Brussels.

Both initiatives, and in particular, the Council’s, appear grossly inadequate to tackle the problem of ‘rule of law backsliding post EU accession’ to quote Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the Commission in charge inter alia of the Rule of Law.

ESO: Background information: Conclusions of the Council of the European Union and the member states meeting within the Council on ensuring respect for the rule of law http://www.europeansources.info/record/conclusions-of-the-council-of-the-european-union-and-the-member-states-meeting-within-the-council-on-ensuring-respect-for-the-rule-of-law/

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