Liberties has published a gap analysis highlighting the shortcomings of the EU Commission’s rule of law report 2024, arguing that it functions more as a monitoring tool than an effective means of addressing democratic backsliding. While the fifth report introduced improvements, such as including enlargement countries, the analysis shows that many Member States, including Germany, France, and Spain, have not seriously implemented the Commission’s recommendations. Only 19% of the recommendations from the 2023 report were meaningfully progressed. This lack of enforcement undermines the Annual Rule of Law Cycle, normalizing rule of law violations and damaging the report’s credibility. Liberties urges the incoming Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law to integrate the report with stronger enforcement tools, such as infringement proceedings and the conditionality mechanism. This would push Member States to take the report seriously and ensure its findings have a tangible impact, ultimately safeguarding Europe’s democracy. Read more here.
Source: Liberties