Brussels, 16/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 16 December, the General Affairs Council decided to establish, on an annual basis, “political dialogue between all of the member states in order to promote and safeguard the rule of law” (see EUROPE 11200).
This political dialogue will add to the rule of law mechanism. Presented by the Commission in spring 2014, this mechanism aims to prevent infringements of the fundamental rights in the member states (see EUROPE 11036). It is based on preventative dialogue and seeks to avoid having to make use of Article 7 of the Treaty, which provides for sanctions which can go as far as the suspension of a country's voting rights within the Council of the EU.
In the conclusions they adopted, the General Affairs Council stresses the importance of the fact that the political dialogue is carried out on a non-partisan basis, is based on facts and does not infringe the respect for national identities or the political or constitutional structures of a country.
The actions of certain countries, such as Hungary, led to the question of the rule of law being addressed at European level. (MB)