13 January 2020
1460 Days Later: Rule of Law in Poland R.I.P. (Part I)
On 13 January 2016, exactly four years ago today, the Commission activated its rule of law framework for the very first time with respect to Poland. This (two-part) post will highlight the main developments, primarily from the point of view of EU law, which took place in 2019. Continue reading >>
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11 December 2019
Open Letter to the President of the European Commission
Ever since the European Commission initiated a third infringement procedure in respect to the recurrent attacks on the rule of law by Polish authorities last April, the situation has continued to seriously deteriorate. It is now upon the Commission to promptly submit to the European Court of Justice an application for interim measures in the infringement case C-791/19 Commission v Poland now pending before the Court of Justice. Continue reading >>08 December 2019
The European Parliament Sidelined
When the Council adopted the first set of procedural rules governing Article 7(1) TEU hearings in July 2019, it unilaterally decided to make the Commission the proxy for the Parliament. This post will show how the Council’s differential treatment of the Commission and the Parliament as activating bodies under Article 7(1) is not compatible with EU primary law and goes against in particular the principle of institutional balance. Continue reading >>
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13 November 2019
From “Nuclear Option” to Damp Squib?
To date, three Article 7(1) TEU hearings have been held in respect of Poland (26 June, 18 September and 11 December 2018) and one in respect of Hungary (16 September 2019). The trouble starts with having to obtain the related documents via repeated freedom of information requests. Analysing those documents, however, reveals further significant shortcomings of the procedure. Continue reading >>
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05 September 2019
The Commission’s Rule of Law Blueprint for Action: A Missed Opportunity to Fully Confront Legal Hooliganism
In its first Communication entitled “Further strengthening the Rule of Law within the Union” published on 3 April 2019, the Commission offered a useful overview of the state of play while also positively inviting all stakeholders to make concrete proposals so as to enhance the EU’s “rule of law toolbox”. A follow up Communication from July 2019 sets out multiple “concrete actions for the short and medium term”. This post will highlight the most innovative actions proposed by the Commission before highlighting what we view as the main weakness of its blueprint: a reluctance to fully accept the reality of rule of law backsliding. Continue reading >>29 May 2019
How to Address Rule of Law Backsliding in Romania
In this post, we will first summarise the situation in Romania before examining Frans Timmermans’ reaction to the latest evidence of rule of law backsliding there. This post concludes with a possible solution considering the diagnosis offered below: an infringement action based on Article 325 TFEU. Continue reading >>15 May 2019
Holding European Political Parties Accountable – Testing the Horizontal EU Values Compliance Mechanism
The rather obscure horizontal EU values compliance mechanism shall give groups of EU citizens the possibility to hold European political parties accountable for non-compliance with EU values. Actually trying do so, however, may turn out to be just as unsuccessful as the Article 7 TEU procedure. Continue reading >>
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15 March 2019
Of Red Lines and Red Herring: The EPP’s Delusions about Restraining Orbán
This post will offer an overview of the main EPP’s ‘red lines’ since the EPP leadership first demanded from Prime Minister Orbán that he immediately comply with EU laws and EPP values nearly two years ago, in April 2017. We will show that, contrary to Weber’s claims about EPP values being non-negotiable, Orbán has repeatedly crossed the EPP’s supposed red-lines with impunity. And rather than being restrained by the EPP, Orbán has sought to transform it. Continue reading >>17 January 2019
1095 Days Later: From Bad to Worse Regarding the Rule of Law in Poland (Part II)
Part II of our stock-taking of the EU rule of law proceedings against Poland: what the Luxembourg Court, the Council and member states can do to prevent further decay of the rule of law. Continue reading >>13 January 2019