Debate: Rule of Law Report - The rule of law situation in the European Union - Rule of law in Greece - Rule of law in Spain - Rule of law in Malta
Date: THURSDAY, 30 MARCH 2023
Speaker: Věra Jourová
Language: EN

As you know, the Commission considers it particularly important to hold regular interinstitutional exchanges on rule—of—law matters. The Commission’s Rule of Law Report is being debated not only in the European Parliament, but also in national parliaments, in the Council, as well as in dedicated dialogues with civil society. The Commission welcomes the draft resolution we are debating today on the third edition of the Rule of Law Report of 2022. The Commission appreciates that your draft resolution underlines a number of positive aspects of the report, including the four pillars it covers, namely the independence, quality and efficiency of justice systems, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and pluralism, and other institutional checks and balances. In follow—up to requests made by the European Parliament, we also added some new topics in last year’s edition, such as public service media and the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. The 2022 report also covered topical issues during the year, such as the functioning of national checks and balances when it comes to concerns over the COVID—19 responses by the Member States and the use of spyware surveillance software such as Pegasus in Greece, Spain, Hungary, Poland and France. The Commission is also grateful that you recognise our efforts to engage with civil society. You also call on the Commission to work closer with the Fundamental Rights Agency. In this respect, we have indeed developed a new approach with dedicated national rule of law dialogues directly involving national civil society in a number of Member States. In the preparation of the report, we are consulting stakeholders and receive many contributions from civil society organisations, professional organisations, including bar associations, practitioners and independent bodies. Notable international bodies also contribute, such as the Council of Europe, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Furthermore, we held hundreds of meetings with national authorities and stakeholders, including civil society. For this year’s report and in direct response to requests from Parliament and civil society, we have also taken steps to further increase the transparency and inclusiveness of our work. We have prolonged the consultation period and, earlier this year, provided additional information about the country visits on our website. We now also provide more information on the composition, role and meetings of the network of national contact points on the rule of law. The most important innovation in the 2022 report, however, are the recommendations which your Parliament has long called for. They are addressed to each Member State. They cover positive practices and reforms which should be further pursued, as well as problems which should be addressed. These recommendations are anchored in EU law and European standards and take into account the specificity of national legal systems whenever relevant. They are tailored to the situation in each Member State and are based on the clear and specific assessments contained in each country chapter. We have received positive feedback on the recommendations from you, from civil society and stakeholders, and also from the Member States. We are determined to make the most of this important step forward. With regard to the findings of the 2022 report in specific Member States that you added to today’s agenda and starting with Malta, the report reflects that a number of reforms started in 2020 and have continued to be implemented. Such reforms, in particular the reform of the system of judicial appointments, have contributed to strengthening the independence of the justice system in Malta. However, challenges still remain, such as the efficiency of justice, as the length of proceedings has continued to deteriorate in recent years. Several initiatives are ongoing, aimed to improve the efficiency of the justice system. In this context, the Commission has recommended in the 2022 report to strengthen these efforts. Although Malta took additional measures and increased resources allocated to investigative and prosecution bodies, the investigation of high—level corruption cases remains lengthy. Results in terms of final judgments are still lacking and remain a cause of concern. Regarding Greece, the report identified a number of measures aiming to improve the efficiency and the quality of the Greek justice system, whilst several challenges still remain to be addressed, notably as regards the length of judicial proceedings. The Commission recommended that Greece address the need for involvement of the judiciary in appointments to the highest judicial offices, taking into account European standards on judicial appointments. The report also noted that the registration requirements for civil society organisations continue to raise concerns as regards its impact on the ability of NGOs to operate in Greece and to receive financial support. It addressed a corresponding recommendation. The challenges in the media sector, transparency of ownership, threats and attacks on journalists and adequacy of the media regulators’ resources remain concerning as well. The report recommended that the protection of journalists be improved.In relation to Spain, the 2022 report highlights that the renewal of the Council for the Judiciary has been pending since the end of 2018, and there have been further calls to modify the appointment system in this Council in line with European standards. The Commission has recommended that Spain proceed with the renewal of the Council for the Judiciary as a matter of priority and initiate, immediately after such renewal, a process in view of adapting the appointment of its judge members, taking into account European standards. Spain has also increased resources for prosecution services, but the prosecution of high—level corruption remains a concern as the proceedings continue to be lengthy and complex. Spain, however, continues to develop a strong integrated framework for the public administration as one means to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest. The Commission has also recommended Spain strengthen the statute of the Prosecutor General, in particular regarding the separation of the terms of office of the Prosecutor General from that of the government. To conclude, the Commission is currently preparing the fourth edition of the report, which we plan to adopt in July. Since February, the Commission’s services have been in the very intensive phase of the country visits, meeting and engaging with three Member States per week. Importantly, the 2023 report will follow up and assess the implementation of the recommendations in the 2022 report.