On Tuesday 31 October, Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová unveiled areas of reflection for improving respect of the rule of law within the European Union through better use of European funds.
During a speech in Finland, at an event looking at Finnish and European prospects for the rule of law, the Commissioner said she was concerned about the situation in Poland, where the government first made problematic changes to the constitutional court and is reforming the courts in such a way as to pension off a large number of supreme court judges and give unprecedented powers to the justice minister or Polish president for appointing new judges.
In early 2016, the European Commission launched a rule of law monitoring mechanism for Poland, which has not yet led to any sanctions being imposed (see EUROPE 11869).
The Commissioner said that for Hungary, the Commission had been involved in a tricky dialogue for years, with the latest cases including laws on universities and the financing of civil society organisations (see EUROPE 11876).
While some things have been done, the Commissioner feels that there is room for improvement when it comes to respect of the rule of law in the EU: ‘First, we should, in my view, ensure that the justice reforms are the right ones! I mean reforms which reinforce the rule of law and fully comply with European standards on judicial independence. A well-functioning justice system is closely linked with the environment to do business. I believe we should consider creating a link between the European Semester and the criminal justice system. This is important in particular for the fight against corruption which is a condition for a business-friendly environment.’
‘Second, I think the time has come to develop a broader perspective and to have the difficult conversation about how to better uphold the rule of law in the EU.’
‘I believe we should promote a wide discussion involving the European Parliament and national parliaments to work towards a common understanding on how best to uphold our common values, at national and at European level,’ said Jourova.
Finally, the Commissioner said: ‘Third, I have said earlier that we need to make better use of EU funds for upholding the rule of law. In my view we need to be sure that the European money is protected. That’s why we should, in my view, create stronger conditions between the rule of law and the cohesion funds. Countries where we have doubts about the rule of law should face tougher scrutiny and checks. We are currently discussing the next financial framework, and I would want to bring this into the debate.’
The European Commission is working on ideas to better enforce the rule of law in member states by 2025. Proposals are due to be published in this regard by the first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, in 2018, explained Jean-Claude Juncker in his State of the Union speech on 13 September (see EUROPE 11861). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)