28 July 2021
28 July 2021
On 20 July, the European Commission published the 2021 Rule of Law Report. The document, which is the outcome of months of painstaking work, can be a valuable tool that empowers civil society, the EU institutions and Member State governments who care about the rule of law in the Union. The Report, comprised of a Communication that covers EU-wide developments and country chapters for each Member State, is designed “as a yearly cycle to promote the rule of law and to prevent problems from emerging or deepening and to address them … It seeks to strengthen the rule of law in full respect for national traditions and specificities, stimulating a constructive debate and encouraging all Member States to examine how challenges can be addressed and to learn from each other’s experiences.”
In its current form, the Report represents a significant descriptive documentation effort. However, for it to live up to the high expectations and truly become a critical tool that can contribute to the promotion and safeguarding of EU values, we believe several fundamental changes are needed in future iterations of the report.
Firstly, we believe that more transparency from the Commission on the methodology and selection process of stakeholders invited to consultation meetings, as well as closer consultation and collaboration with civil society to design a more straightforward and more easily accessible process, would greatly benefit its credibility. We appreciate that the Commission has “further deepened our assessment, which benefited from even more outreach than last year,” as Commissioner Reynders said at the press conference presenting the Report. However, given the current lack of openness concerning the methodology, it is difficult to assess how inclusive the process really is and to what extent shortcomings in this regard are systematically addressed.
Secondly, looking at the Communication and country reports as a whole, it appears that the process of “looking at all Member States equally” has resulted in depoliticised analyses in anodyne language that present the situation in all Member States as roughly equal, allowing for measured praise and criticism of each. Subsequently, we believe that the Report as a whole does not reflect the reality of the depth of the rule of law crisis in Poland and Hungary or how starkly the intentional violation of core EU values in these Member States contrasts with the situation in the rest of the Union. It also undermines the Report’s ability to prevent problems from emerging, as is currently the case in certain other Member States including Slovenia, or to stimulate debate and mutual learning.
Lastly, to strengthen the process’ capacity to bring about substantial change, we continue to call for country-specific recommendations. These should be framed in the context of Member States’ obligations under EU law and international human rights law and standards, which would allow for tracking and evaluating progress and regression against an agreed, binding framework.
Article 19
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
International Press Institute (IPI)
OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)
This statement is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), an Europe-wide mechanism, which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. This project provides legal and practical support, public advocacy and information to protect journalists and media workers. The MFRR is organised by an consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) with ARTICLE 19, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Institute for Applied Informatics at the University of Leipzig (InfAI), International Press Institute (IPI) and CCI/Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT). The project is co-funded by the European Commission. www.mfrr.eu
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) today condemn state security forces' deliberate violence against journalists covering the International Workers’ Day protest in Paris on 1 May, including physical violence and arbitrary confiscation of protective masks.
READ MOREThe MFRR partners condemn the drastic annual cuts in funding for the weekly magazine Novosti, the only print media for the Serb minority in Croatia.
READ MOREOn World Press Freedom Day, the International Press Institute (IPI), European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urge Turkish authorities to cease all attacks against journalists and protect press freedom amid a severe media crackdown.
READ MOREOn this World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners express solidarity with all journalists and media professionals who face threats, intimidation, and attacks for their work.
READ MOREThe European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) expresses its deepest concern regarding the transnational repression targeting Egyptian journalist Basma Mostafa.
READ MOREOn the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) shared alarming findings about the deteriorating state of press and media freedom in Serbia. The MFRR solidarity mission to Belgrade and Novi Sad, conducted on 7-9 April, alongside ongoing monitoring, revealed a state of emergency – one that demands urgent attention and action from national authorities and the EU.
READ MOREMenckestr. 27
04155 Leipzig / Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 172 367 499 0
Fax: +49 (0) 341 562 96 63
E-Mail: info@ecpmf.eu
www.ecpmf.eu
© Copyright 2022 – ECPMF
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_mcid | 1 year | This is a Mailchimp functionality cookie used to evaluate the UI/UX interaction with its platform |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | 2 years | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. |
_gat_gtag_UA_84831681_1 | 1 minute | Set by Google to distinguish users. |
_gid | 1 day | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
ahoy_visit | 4 hours | This cookie is set by Powr for analytics measurement. |
ahoy_visitor | 2 years | This cookie is set by Powr for analytics measurement. |
CONSENT | 2 years | YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data. |
s_vi | 2 years | An Adobe Analytics cookie that uses a unique visitor ID time/date stamp to identify a unique vistor to the website. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 5 months 27 days | A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. |
YSC | session | YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages. |
yt-remote-connected-devices | never | YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. |
yt-remote-device-id | never | YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_reporter_session | session | No description |