Debate: Report on the Commission’s  Rule of Law report
Date: WEDNESDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2024
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: FR

L'un des objectifs du rapport est précisément de servir de base pour de tels débats politiques et je me réjouis de souligner que nous avons largement atteint cet objectif déjà avec les trois éditions précédentes. Le rapport fait régulièrement l'objet de débats, tant ici au Parlement européen qu'au sein des parlements nationaux ou au sein du Conseil. Le rapport a également suscité des discussions internes au sein des États membres sur l'état de droit et sur les mesures qui peuvent être prises pour le renforcer.  Le rapport permet aussi d'améliorer la connaissance mutuelle des systèmes nationaux respectifs. Il sert désormais de référence aux États membres lorsqu'ils engagent des réformes, notamment sur la base des recommandations émises dans les rapports de 2022 et 2023.  – Allow me to also recall President von der Leyen’s announcement in the State of the Union speech that the Commission will open the 2024 Rule of Law Report to some enlargement countries. I am pleased to inform you that the Commission has invited Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to participate in the exercise for 2024. These four countries have been invited, as they are the most advanced either in their respective accession process or concerning the level of preparedness when it comes to the rule of law. This is thus the countries for which Chapter 23 on the rule of law and fundamental rights, and Chapter 24 on justice, freedom and security, are open or which are above some level of preparation when it comes to Chapter 23. The Commission welcomes the draft resolution we are debating today on the fourth edition of the Rule of Law Report, which was adopted in July last year. As you know, the Rule of Law Report covers four pillars: the independence, quality and efficiency of justice systems; anti-corruption frameworks; media freedom and pluralism; and all the institutional checks and balances there are. These are key independent pillars for ensuring the rule of law. The draft resolution welcomes the focus on these key areas. As regards the specific topics covered under each area, the Commission is following up on the challenges and developments identified in the previous report, deepening our assessment in certain areas or adding new topics that emerge across Member States, as relevant. For example, the 2023 report systematically looks at public service media and at the implementation of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, topics that were raised also by the European Parliament. The functioning of national checks and balances in how Member States responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the use of intrusive surveillance software such as Pegasus, are also part of the report, where relevant. Furthermore, the Commission has also taken due note of your request to cover the cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is already mentioned in the Rule of Law Report. The economic dimension of the rule of law is an important issue, as respect for the rule of law is essential for the correct application of EU law and for a well-functioning single market. Judicial and anti-corruption reforms, in particular, can have an important impact on the business environment, as already often highlighted in the European Semester reports. Rule of law reforms are also part of many Member States’ national recovery and resilience plans. Last but not least, they are essential for the protection of the EU’s financial interests. Your draft report recognises the Commission’s efforts to engage with civil society. You also call on the Commission to work closer with the Fundamental Rights Agency in the context of the rule of law cycle. In this respect, I am pleased to flag that in follow up to the 2023 report, we continued to hold national rule of law dialogues, organised jointly with the Fundamental Rights Agency and directly involving national civil society in a number of Member States. We intend to extend these dialogues further. We managed to gradually advance the date of adoption each year since the second report, whilst also extending, each year, the consultation period for the Member States and other stakeholders. The 2023 report presents the Commission assessment based on a well-established methodology and showing objectivity and equal treatment among Member States. Our assessment is also informed by a variety of sources, but I confirm that is the assessment of the Commission, and it is the role of the Commission to do that, so we will continue to work in such a way. For the 2023 report, and in direct response to requests from the Parliament and civil society, we have also taken steps to increase the transparency and inclusiveness of all joint work even further. We are now publishing additional information about the calendar of the exercise, including, more specifically, the schedule for the country visits for 2024. In addition, we now provide more information on the composition, role and meetings of the network of national rule of law contact points. As you know, the report has evolved throughout these four years since the beginning of my mandate. Since 2022, it includes country-specific recommendations addressed to each Member State. The aim of these recommendations is to assist and support Member States in their efforts to take forward reforms. The 2023 report assessed the follow-up given to the first set of recommendations that the Commission issued in the year before. We can see that the report has become a true driver of positive reforms. Important efforts are ongoing in many Member States to follow up on the recommendations of the previous year. This is, however, happening at various speeds and levels of completeness, with some important concerns remaining in certain Member States. Overall, within this framework of one year, around two thirds of the recommendations issued in 2022 have already been followed up fully or partially. The 2023 recommendations either build on last year’s recommendations where there was no or partial implementation, or address new challenges identified since last year. We are now preparing this through the fifth edition of the annual Rule of Law Report that we plan to adopt at the beginning of July this year. In fact, since the end of January, we have been in an intensive phase of the virtual country visits, meeting and engaging with another average three Member States per week. So, I am sure that we will continue to intensify the work with the Member States, the stakeholders, the civil society in such a way to have a real possibility to promote the culture of the rule of law in all the Member States. But it is true that if it is not enough to organise a dialogue on such a basis, on the basis of the report, it is needed to do more, and we are using all the tools like infringement proceedings, sometimes with some decision requests to the court to import some fines. But also, we are using the budgetary instruments that we have at our disposal. You know that you have put a lot of reforms in the recovery and resilience plans, with some milestones in those plans concerning the fight against corruption or the reforms concerning the justice system to give some examples. In one case, we have used also the conditionality mechanism. Thank you for your support in the way to organise the process with all those instruments. But also thank you for such a debate about the rule of law report. Again, it is an important element to promote the culture of the rule of law in the entire European Union.