The European Commission has officially raised the alarm over a growing divide within the bloc, warning that efforts to protect justice, fight corruption, and ensure media freedom are failing to keep pace in several member states.
According to the EU’s seventh annual Rule of Law Report, while some countries are successfully pushing forward with historic legal upgrades, the overall progress remains dangerously lopsided across Europe, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.
The sweeping report analyzed legal and institutional developments across all 27 EU member states, alongside four candidate nations (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). It graded countries across four critical pillars:
Judicial Independence: Court reform and the protection of judges from political interference.
Anti-Corruption Measures: Accountability systems and bribery crackdowns.
Media Freedom: The safety of journalists and transparency of media ownership.
Checks and Balances: The overall health of democratic institutions.
While the report praised several countries for successfully restructuring their judicial councils to keep politics out of the courtroom, it explicitly noted that reforms are moving at a snail’s pace in certain regions.
The situation is equally complicated for nations trying to join the EU. Candidate countries have made noticeable strides in updating their legal frameworks, but the Commission warned that “undue influence” and political pressure still heavily compromise their court systems.
The Corruption Problem: Even though new anti-corruption rules have been passed following recent EU directives, the report demands aggressive improvements in investigating, prosecuting, and actually securing final judgments in high-level corruption cases. Gaps in lobbying rules and conflicts of interest also remain widespread.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the rule of law isn’t just about politics—it’s the foundation of Europe’s economic survival.
“The rule of law builds trust,” Von der Leyen stated following the report’s release. “Trust among citizens. Trust for businesses. It is what makes Europe the best and safest place to live and invest.” Without uniform legal standards, the EU fears that both public faith and international investment could begin to fracture.
