Poland fares bad in EC’s report on rule of law in EU countries
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The report on rule of law is a new element of the EU rule of law mechanism. Such reports will be produced every year. The rule of law is assessed in four areas. Poland fared very badly in all of them. These are the justice system, anti-corruption mechanisms, media pluralism and other institutional issues.
As the European Commission stated, the rule of law in the European Union is deteriorating, but several countries are leading the way. The lowest scores in the report were Poland and Hungary, i.e. countries against which anti-infringement proceedings under Art. 7 of the EU treaty were launched.
The situation in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain was also criticized.
“The issue of the rule of law is one of the foundations of the European Union. Strengthening its compliance is a priority in building an effective EU. But the Covid-19 pandemic has become something of a stress-test for the EU's rule of law,” EC wrote in the introduction to the document.
“The rule of law is a mechanism that protects citizens from violations by government. However, while the EU is characterized by a high level of compliance with the rule of law, we face an increasing number of challenges in this regard. But we want to look for solutions in cooperation with the governments of the Member States,” Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the EC, assured.
In turn, the deputy head of the Commission, Věra Jourová, responsible for values and transparency, stated that the EC fills a serious gap, because it is the first time that it comprehensively assesses the rule of law across the EU.
"Every EU citizen equally deserves access to an independent judiciary, to use pluralistic and free media or to the fact that all his fundamental rights will always be respected," Jourová emphasized.
