Debate: Commission’s  Rule of Law Report
Date: WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: FR

La Commission partage des objectifs de votre Parlement, également exprimés dans ce nouveau projet de résolution, en ce qui concerne la promotion et la protection de l’état de droit. Il est essentiel que toutes les institutions de l’Union travaillent ensemble à cet effet. Le rapport sur l’état de droit représente un instrument important dans la poursuite de nos objectifs communs. Avec la deuxième édition de ce rapport, nous constatons de nouveau que celui-ci a un véritable impact. Il ne s’agit pas seulement d’une évaluation de l’état de droit à des fins analytiques, mais bien d’un instrument qui permet d’influencer les réformes engagées dans nombre d’États membres. Le rapport a aussi prouvé qu’il pouvait servir de base à un véritable dialogue politique sur l’état de droit, au niveau européen comme au niveau national. The Commission welcomes the draft resolution of your Parliament that we are debating today. I appreciate that it underlines a number of positive aspects of the rule of law report, such as the equal treatment of all the Member States and the fact that the functioning of justice systems, the anti—corruption framework, media pluralism and certain institutional issues related to checks and balances are all part of this report.  I’m grateful that you recognise all efforts to engage with civil society, giving full credit to the vital importance that civil society organisations play for the proper functioning of the rule of law. Civil society organisations are also very important partners in the preparation of the rule of law report as they provide valuable information on the situation on the ground.  For the 2022 report, we have conducted more than 100 meetings with civil society organisations. We have also received over 250 contributions from stakeholders, many of these from civil society organisations, but also from professional organisations, or from other institutions.  Moreover, your resolution notes that the Commission engaged in debates with your Parliament and with national parliaments. First of all, I have had the opportunity to hold several discussions with this Parliament in the plenary and in several committees.  Let me reiterate that I am ready to engage with you even more, maybe in a more formalised format, and notably in debating the situation of the rule of law in country—specific exchanges regarding all Member States.  As regards national parliaments, last year the rule of law report was the most discussed topic amongst the more than 100 meetings that all members of the Commission had with national parliaments. I can tell you first hand how important and valuable these discussions are for both sides. Without the rule of law report, such informed and objective political debates would not be possible.  Furthermore, the resolution welcomes that the report of this year will include specific recommendations for all the Member States. I also take note of some more critical points of concern and concrete suggestions in your resolution. These are important contributions for further advancing our work.  As regards the call to link the country—specific recommendations with country—concrete tools to be used if Member States will not follow up – allow me to recall that the report is only one of the instruments at our disposal. While there must be synergies between the instruments, they are separate, with different conditions for their use and different objectives. They require a separate and detailed assessment in each case. It will not seem adequate to pre—empt or to rule out possible future decisions to use one of the tools at the time of the adoption of a specific edition of the rule of law report. We need to ensure our ability to react to developing situations with the most appropriate instruments at hand.  Let me also assure you that the Commission does not hesitate to use the instruments we have to protect the rule of law and EU values in general. As you know, most recently the Commission sent a written notification to Hungary under the Conditionality Regulation.  In addition, we pursue the protection of the rule of law through various other initiatives. This includes the recommendation on the safety of journalists adopted last year, our recent proposal to protect journalists and human rights defenders against SLAPPS and the 10th edition of the Justice Scoreboard that I will be presenting tomorrow.  In parallel, the Commission is continuing with its enforcement actions against those Member States that violate EU law, including through daily penalty payments in case of continued failure to respect decisions of the European Court of Justice. Also next week, the Council will be holding a hearing under the Article 7 procedure concerning Hungary, where I will participate.  To conclude, the Commission is now preparing the 2022 rule of law report and we aim to adopt it in July. We will assess developments since the previous report and we will examine the extent to which concerns have been addressed or processed or whether the situation has further deteriorated.  As I said, for the first time, this edition will include country—specific recommendations for all the Member States, which I know was very important for this Parliament. Of course, I am looking forward to discussing this third edition of the report with you, if it’s possible, with debates dedicated to all the Member States. But already today I thank you for your attention, not only for my speech, but for the rule of law report since 2020.