The 2025 Rule of Law report: Full use of the EU toolbox?

Speakers: Daniel Freund, MEP, Greens/EFA Group’s Shadow Rapporteur for the 2025 Rule of Law Report, European Parliament; Florian Geyer, Head of Unit of Rule of Law Unit, European Commission; Márta Pardavi, Co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee; Maria Skóra, Policy Fellow at Das Progressive Zentrum, Re:constitution Visiting Fellow at the European Policy Centre

Moderator: Eric Maurice, Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre

On 8 July, the European Commission published its annual report on the Rule of Law situation in the EU, the first of the current European Commission’s mandate. In the context of the continued rise of radical political forces and further attacks on democratic institutions in EU member states, this online policy dialogue will look into the report’s findings, examine the EU’s actions to defend the Rule of Law, and discuss how the EU’s current toolbox to safeguard liberal democracy could be improved. Bringing together representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, civil society organisations, and academia, this policy dialogue focused on several key issues and asked the questions: What are the Commission's priorities regarding the Rule of Law in the context of a securitisation of democracy? Does the new ‘Single Market dimension’ in the Rule of Law Report signal a shift towards a focus on economic risk? How can the EU’s toolbox be streamlined, and how can other EU institutions contribute to the defence of the rule of law?