On Wednesday 22 April, the European Affairs MEPS discussed “the resilience of their democratic systems” and the need to “work very hard” on this issue, said the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for inter-institutional relations, Maroš Šefčovič, following an informal video conference of the General Affairs Council.
While the emergency measures taken in Member States have put a strain on fundamental rights, Ministers exchanged their views on the effect on “fundamental rights and the Rule of law”.
The Commission—represented by the Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, and the Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova— therefore, according to Šefčovič, “clearly noted that these measures must be limited in time, in their scope and must be subject to review”.
The Commission took the opportunity to present an overview of the measures implemented in the EU-27, taking note that in the majority of countries, the extraordinary measures were limited with recourse to parliamentary oversight.
In other countries, Didier Reynders explained, these powers were very broadly defined and were in place for a period without any real time limit, which is the case, for example, in Hungary, the Commissioner explicitly noted.
Poland was not directly mentioned by the two representatives, according to one source, but the Commission mentioned the work of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission in organising free and fair elections, which it would appear was a discreet request to Poland, which is still holding its presidential elections on 10 May.
The ministers' discussion was quite long, with all the Member States taking to the floor on this subject, in particular expressing the need for “vigilance” with regard to these exceptional measures, as stated by Amélie de Montchalin, the French Secretary of State.
During this discussion, the Commission was strongly “encouraged to continue its evaluation work”, commented the Croatian State Secretary for European Affairs, Andreja Metelko-Zgombic, who also said she expected that a sort of “written document” would eventually be published regarding all the measures.
However, as far as actions were concerned, the informal format of the meeting did not allow for further action to be taken, since no reference was made to Article 7-related work in the EU Council. A few States nevertheless pointed out the importance of maintaining the link between the Rule of law and the European budget.
Implicitly targeted, Poland and Hungary insisted specifically on the objective treatment of all Member States, while the Commission also stressed the need for fair treatment. The Croatian Presidency of the EU Council and Commissioner Didier Reynders will return to this subject on Thursday, before the sitting of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee.
First annual report in September
Maroš Šefčovič stated during the press briefing that the European Commission hopes to publish its annual report on the Rule of law “in September”. It will take stock of the situation in all Member States, looking at both the independence of the judiciary and media pluralism. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)