The first annual report on the Rule of law, which was published on 30 September (see other news), was relatively well received by the Greens/EFA group and their MEP, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, who is responsible for monitoring Article 7 in respect of Hungary.
However, the French MEP told EUROPE that the effect of this very first tool could well be limited, since there is no associated “recommendation” and the European Commission is not making “any commitment to follow up” on it. The ecologist instantly said that it doesn't “make it possible to change things”, especially since the group is worried about the apparent reluctance of von der Leyen Commission's to launch infringements. In particular, the group deplores the fact that the European Commission is hiding behind the notion that they do not have a strong enough legal basis to launch proceedings against such issues as the notion of LGBTI-free areas in Poland.
However, the MEP intends to be positive. She welcomes the fact that the Commission “names” the Member States in this very first report, which was not necessarily a certainty, and that they also provide a relatively complete picture: it notes problems in other Member States, such as France, on the independence of the judiciary and equality of litigants.
The MEP also acknowledges that this report confirms that issues concerning the Rule of law and respect for values are now considered indispensable and stand at the heart of the debate, which was not previously the case. It welcomes an “awareness” and a new “vigilance”, which is particularly embodied by the new conditionality mechanism.
Reacting to the German Presidency's fears that the Recovery Plan and the budget would spiral out of control on this point, she said that it was better to take time and develop a solid instrument.
However, on this issue of the Rule of law, action still needs to be taken to strengthen the credibility of the institutions. In particular, she would like the EU Council to move on to recommendations on Article 7; currently, it is only organising dialogues with Budapest and Warsaw that have hitherto had relatively no effect.
The president of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, Romanian MEP Dacian Cioloş, also welcomed the report, stating that it shows how the conditionality mechanism is “more necessary than ever”.
“The Rule of law is not a political weapon that can be used to attack governments. It is a tool to protect our citizens throughout Europe against infringements of their fundamental rights and freedoms”.
Unsurprisingly, the Hungarian Government has rejected the report, calling it “bogus and absurd”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)