The ‘General Affairs’ Council meeting of the EU Member States’ ministers responsible for European affairs on Monday 26 January opened the first round of the 2025 annual dialogue on the Rule of Law, dedicated to Estonia, Denmark, Greece and Spain.
This exercise follows on from the European Commission’s 2025 annual reports, published last July.
For each of the four Member States, the Commission presented the main conclusions of the relative reports, before the delegations concerned outlined the latest developments in their legal and institutional environment.
The discussions then gave the other countries the opportunity to share their experiences and best practices, before the final observations of the countries evaluated.
With regard to Spain, the Commission reported significant progress, in particular the effective renewal of the General Council for the Judiciary after several years of deadlock and the resumption of appointments to high-level judicial posts.
Nevertheless, reforms are still awaited, especially with a view to improving the independence of the public prosecutor’s office and reducing the length of proceedings, particularly before the Supreme Court.
According to the evaluation of Greece, the country has an ongoing reform agenda, with greater consideration being given to the judiciary in the appointment of the most senior magistrates, which has been noted as a step forward in terms of independence.
However, issues relating to the length of legal proceedings and the consolidation of a stable framework for dialogue with civil society are among the challenges highlighted.
The Commission, which pointed out the high level of digitalisation of the justice system in Estonia, also raised questions about the reform of the Council for Court Administration and the increasing workload of judges, at a time when budgetary constraints are not negligible.
As for Denmark, confidence in the independence of the judiciary is high, but the Commission noted unresolved delays concerning the rules on lobbying, conflicts of interest and access to administrative documents.
Speaking to the press at the end of the discussions, the Cypriot Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, described the dialogue as “fluid, substantial and constructive”, and recalled the EU’s leading role in defending and strengthening the Rule of law.
The cycle continues in May with France, Croatia, Italy and Latvia.
Rule of Law Reports 2025: Estonia: https://aeur.eu/f/kfa; Denmark: https://aeur.eu/f/kf4; Greece: https://aeur.eu/f/kf5; Spain: https://aeur.eu/f/kf6 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)