The European Commission’s sixth annual report on the Rule of law, published in July (see EUROPE 13676/27), contains major gaps, the NGO Liberties found in a ‘counter-report’ published on Tuesday 4 November, assessing the various Commission reports published since 2022.
Over the last three years, the Commission has issued more than 500 recommendations, an average of five per country per year. In 2025, 123 recommendations were made, a 10% drop compared with 2024. Yet, “when focusing on how these recommendations are treated, stark findings emerge that contrast with the Commission’s more optimistic portrayal of overall progress", says Liberties.
“An overwhelming 93% of all 2025 recommendations were repetitions from previous years, with 71% dating back to 2022. Many were repeated verbatim, regardless of the level of progress, the seriousness of the violation, or the implications of continued inaction”.
Only nine new recommendations were introduced in 2025, barely 7% of the total, and involving only eight Member States. “This low figure does not reflect an absence of new Rule of law concerns. For instance, Slovakia’s adoption of a restrictive NGO law in 2025 prompted no corresponding recommendation from the Commission”.
In addition, the proportion of recommendations fully implemented has fallen from 11% in 2023 to 6% in 2024 and 2025. Hungary has the highest number of unresolved recommendations.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/j9y (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)