With the rule of law a top priority on the EU agenda, the European Policy Centre Connecting Europe project and re:constitution, a joint project of Democracy Reporting International and Forum Transregionale Studien,  organized a Policy Dialogue on 22 January 2020 on the question "Does the EU have what it takes to safeguard the rule of law?“

Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency of the European Commission, gave a keynote speech outlining the dangers of the erosion of the rule of law for the EU. She emphasised the importance of an independent judiciary   and stressed the need for a common rule of law culture across the EU’s institutions and member states in order to prevent democratic backsliding. Her speech was followed by a panel discussion. 

The panelists emphasised that the EU needs to take strong actions against rule of law violations, which were taking place in many member states; these  were calling into question, not only Article 2of the Treaty on the European Union, but also mutual trust, the first requirement for EU cooperation. The discussion focused on the Article 7 procedure, the rule of law mechanism and interinstitutional relations around that question. Whilst it was recognised that the issue is highly sensitive, there was an agreement that rule of law should not be made more complex than it is and that the EU has an important role to  play in upholding democracy at national level.

Missed the event?  Listen to our podcast here, including additional interviews with some of the speakers