Debate: The establishment of an EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights
Date: MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2020
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

I think that developments in the EU in the last decades show that we had undermined something, that we believe that the rule of law principle, democracy, fundamental rights, all these universal – not left and right – but universal European values will last forever, that they do not need any kind of effort or any kind of protection. We were mistaken. That’s why now we are trying to enlarge our toolbox and enlarge our possibilities to address the problems we see in the Member States and to tackle the problems together with the Member States. It is the meaning and purpose of the rule of law report which we presented last week. We needed to have a new preventive tool which we will create in the report, we will develop it in an inclusive manner, using transparent methodology which will invite us for the dialogue with the Member States, and I believe in dialogue, even with the Member States where we seem not to have very welcoming reactions. We also needed to come with a conditionality relating to EU money. We are going to distribute EUR 1.7 trillion in the next years for a very good reason: the European Union has to use the money for the best purpose to help European citizens to get out of this crisis and to develop new qualities and to open the chance for development in promising areas. But it cannot work to distribute such a big amount of money while we are in the atmosphere of decreasing trust. It cannot work. That’s why we want to achieve this conditionality to be introduced in our system. The Commission will work also, as I said to you, on the strategy on the implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Democracy Action Plan. You’re calling for covering the whole scope, which we see also in Mr Šimečka’s report, which I heard many times from Sophie in’t Veld and other Members of Parliament. The Commission is addressing all three, but uses three different, if I may say, vehicles or methods. In the European Democracy Action Plan, we want to come up with efficient measures on how to protect free and fair elections because whatever positives we do to protect democracy and the rule of law in the Member States, the first and the last word is for the citizens living in the Member States. That’s why I think we should do more to protect their right to cast their free vote and that’s why in the action plan, we will focus on protecting the system where there is a level playing field for campaigning and financing of the political parties and political campaigns. We would like to have guaranteed fairer judiciary oversight over the elections and, last but not least, access to objective information, so we will focus on the freedom of speech and pluralistic media, which will deliver objective information. I think that we have to continue our work. It’s quite obvious also from today’s debate that there is a very demanding job for all three institutions, be it the Commission, Parliament, or the Council. We have to find a way to continue the work and not rely on the naivety from the past that our rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights are some kind of perpetual pillar which will last forever.