'Rule of Law' Discussion, 13th January 2021
The Rule of Law Discussion included a variety of astute questions from many attendees which were met by intuitive answers from our resident academics. Both Cseh and Pech successfully addressed this debate in as much detail as time allowed, drawing on their own extensive research alongside personal experiences. This provided for an insightful discussion on what our speakers stressed to be the main issue facing the European Union in contemporary society.
Answers provided by our academics shall not be included in this overview of the event in order to assure our speakers and attendees of the safe discussion forum which GES aims to provide.
Speakers
Professor Laurent Pech is the Head of the Law and Politics Department at Middlesex University and specialises in EU Public Law. Acting as a legal consultant in countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Latvia and Montenegro, Professor Pech has worked in association with the Council of Europe as well as EU-funded training schemes. He has won a European Scholarship Prize for his research on the Treaty of Lisbon and, more recently, he has turned his focus toward researching the rule of law backsliding in Europe. He has been a Research Fellow at New York University and a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley. Currently, Professor Pech is producing a H2020 funded research project titled ‘Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and the Rule of Law’.
Katalin Cseh co-founded the Momentum Movement in 2015 and was elected to European Parliament at the top of their party list four years later. She is a vice-chair of the Renew Europe group and, as of last year, she sits on the Subcommittee on Human Rights. She has also worked on the Committee on Regional Development and the Climate and Energy Intergroup. Cseh was elected as the Vice President of EUFORES, a multi-party group of MEPs aiming to promote renewable energy. Having worked as a physician of obstetrics and gynaecology, she has recently been applying her first-hand knowledge of public health to pandemic response for Renew Europe.
Questions Asked
As aforementioned, Pech’s current primary area of study is the concern of the backsliding of the rule of law within the EU. He has previously described this issue as one that poses an existential threat to the EU, surpassing even that of Brexit. As an introduction, what is meant by the Rule of Law backsliding, and what are the differences between this concept and simple shortcomings of the Rule of Law within Member States.
The launch of the first annual Rule of Law report in 2020 was viewed as another significant development in the enforcement of the rule of law within the Eu, this being a report that monitors the negative and positive developments relating to the rule of law in all member states thereby allowing the Eu to determine what mechanisms work well and where further improvements need to be made. What will arguably be the effectiveness of this new tool and how long will it take before we see the benefits of this annual report. Or are we already seeing any improvements of the Rule of Law within states following the publication of the 2020 report?
European Court Rulings against Member States (such as on protection of academic freedom, asylum systems and NGO funding etc.) are not new. However, countries nowadays are still seen to be purposefully not following these rulings. Why has infringement action (Article 258) not been invoked for non-compliance? This is particularly concerning, as the new Rule of Law mechanism is designed to be preventative and supplement these existing instruments. In some cases, CEU judgement has come too late to avoid damage being caused by MS's actions. How can this be avoided by the new instruments discussed?
Speaking of the implementation of EU law, what about national courts going against European Court of Justice decisions, such as the German High Court in May? What signal does this send (i) for respect for EJC rulings in EU law (ii) and for the discussed Rule of Law mechanism's future?
(Directed at our resident politician) In light of large government-funded media campaigns against EU activity, and especially against the Rule of Law mechanism (accused as plotting against certain MSs), what can the EU do to combat this misinformation? Moreover, if or when this mechanism takes effect against certain countries, is it to be expected that these MSs will fail to comply and in response continue to spread further misinformation?
Given that the Rule of Law is under threat in some countries despite the actions threatening it being deemed technically 'legal' (e.g. the monopolising of media through government-friendly oligarchs), how can the EU and this new mechanism respond to said actions? What other measures can the European Council and the European Parliament rely on?
The EU, and particularly the Momentum Movement, has been seen to focus on the unlawful distribution of EU funds as indicated by OLAF reports etc. However, the EU is also a system of liberal values. Why not focus on that aspect?
What is your responce to the critique that the implementation of the Rule of Law mechanism is potentially too slow, in particular with the compromise-delay of its implementation? Irreparable and lasting damage is already being done to some democracies that have been argued to lead to shifts in undermining human rights and liberal democracy. Example: Uphurl of legal system in Poland (e.g. replacement of critical judges complying with EU law). Does this issue lay bare the fundamental differences between the European Parliament, the EU Commission and the European Council?
Laurent Pech had some interesting ideas concerning combatting the Rule of Law backsliding within the EU at the beginning of 2020. Following the adoption of aforementioned rules and Rule of Law report, have these opinions changed at all as regards what still needs to be done? And what is the next step for the EU under the current circumstances?
Does the EU realistically have enough power to enforce such regulations on States? And if so, to what extent do you believe this would affect countries such as Hungary and Poland?
