‘Systemic concerns’ on rule of law remain in EU: Report

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - “Systemic concerns” on democracy remained in some EU member states, while the bloc's overall state of the rule of law remained the same over the past year, the European Commission announced on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference presenting the 2023 Rule of Law Report, EU Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova said that “there is no radical worsening or backsliding in any member state.”

However, she stressed that she “will never be satisfied, in general, because there are a lot of things to be improved.”

According to the report, EU member states have “fully or partially” implemented over 65% of last year’s recommendations, which the EU executive body considers a “significant development over only one year.”

At the same time, the EU Commission warned that “systemic concerns remain in some member states.”

The report said that “in Hungary, the government has continued to use its emergency powers extensively since 2020, undermining legal certainty and affecting the activities and the stability of businesses in the single market.”

For Poland, it pointed out “some progress” on the independence of the judiciary, but still recommended better separation of powers.

Referring to the wiretapping scandals in Greece and other EU countries, the report said that “new developments were identified in 2023” in relation to the use of spyware such as Pegasus “against journalists, lawyers, national politicians, MEPs, and citizens in several member states.”

The European Commission warned that the EU countries must only “recourse to such tools by member states’ security services” if they are subject to sufficient control and fully respects EU law” even if the surveillance is considered as a national security interest.

​​​​​​​It also noted that the Greek national parliament and “judicial and independent authorities” currently investigate the scandal in which opposition leader and EU lawmaker Nikos Androulakis and several journalists were wiretapped.

Published every year since 2020, the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report examines the judicial system, anti-corruption framework, media freedom, and institutional checks and balances in all the 27 EU member states.