Voltěra Jourová breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday. “The rule of law survived the pandemic,” the vice president said European CommissionThe reporter in charge of the rule of law interviewed six European newspapers, including FAZ. Since last spring, liberals from the Czech Republic have repeatedly warned against excessive emergency regulations. She is worried that the government may overdo it or use the crisis to further weaken democratic control and civil rights.
In some cases, this has already happened, but many other states have placed their interim measures on a legal basis and have made their parliaments more closely involved. Therefore, the annual report on the rule of law in all 27 member states submitted by the European Commission on Tuesday is full of light and shadows.
Hungary and Poland performed the worst again. Jourová said that both states already have procedures for reviewing the rule of law, but the problems are “systematic” and have been long-standing. The committee emphasized this by issuing an ultimatum to China Sofa on Tuesday.If the government does not approve the case law European Court of Justice (ECJ) admits that the committee wants to apply to the same court for a fine-this is an extraordinary step. In this case, the conflict revolved around the disciplinary body of the Polish Supreme Court, which, in the view of the European Court of Justice, should be used to intimidate or remove judges who dislike politics.
The government led by the National Conservative PiS Party has changed its practices since last week Constitutional CourtShe also controls politically. The judge ruled that the European Court of Justice had nothing to say in this case.
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In Brussels, this was seen as an attack on the European legal order. Now, the time when Warsaw must pay for this is approaching. Most importantly, the committee has not yet approved reconstruction plans for Poland and Hungary. “The committee would like to see a written commitment that payments will be protected,” Jourová said. Of course, in practice, both countries must carry out painful reforms.
Hungarian media is under pressure
In addition, after the following summer vacation, the committee also hopes to open the first batch of cases to protect the budget from the rule of law deficit. This will also affect other countries. As Jourová confirmed, screening is currently underway, which will include a report on the rule of law. This is about judicial independence, anti-corruption measures, media freedom and diversity, and division of powers in each member state since September 2020.
Every Tuesday
In the judicial field, the committee criticized the composition and operation of the Supreme Judicial Council of Bulgaria. In Slovakia, although she has seen progress on the same issue, the issue of judicial independence still exists. There are also disputes regarding the appointment of judges or prosecutors in Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain. Reforms to strengthen the judiciary have been proven in several countries, including the Czech Republic and Malta, which have long been criticized by Brussels.
In the fight against corruption, the committee praised several countries for launching national action plans. In addition to Bulgaria, Malta, the Czech Republic and Romania, this also includes Hungary, but only for public services. In the media sector, the committee believes that the independence of journalists is “high risk” not only in Poland and Hungary, but also in Bulgaria, Malta, Romania and Slovakia. This was the case last year; this is reasonable with the ownership structure of important media.
For Hungary, the emphasis on the country is the country’s largest advertisers-companies with close ties to the government benefit almost entirely. In Poland, the committee identified a similar trend. It also mentioned the increasing threats to journalists, whether in online forums or at gunpoint. Therefore, Jourová hopes to make suggestions on how to improve protection in September.
Germany’s role
Germany did not play a prominent role in most paragraphs of the report, but it was mentioned in the European Central Bank ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court. The Commission initiated an infringement lawsuit in early June because, in its view, the decision violated the primacy of EU law. She pointed out that the Polish government has explicitly invoked this point and asked its Constitutional Court to determine the primacy of the national constitution-which is still to be decided. Brussels is also struggling with the recent decisions of France and Romania affecting individual cases.
In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Jourová explained why the committee took time before launching a German infringement lawsuit, and now it is responding more quickly and harder to Poland. “All year, from May 2020 to May 2021, we have maintained very close contact with the German authorities, who are looking for solutions and are very interested in fixing the situation after the Karlsruhe judgment.” Not initiated It is an unwritten legal action. This is done only if the federal government has not made “wise advice.”
On this issue, her difference is as follows: Although the European Central Bank’s ruling is “potentially” dangerous to the entire structure of the European legal system, the Polish case may have had a very negative impact “tomorrow”.
