ruleoflaw
Human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders first revealed in 2022 that China operates more than 120 illegal police offices in 53 countries around the world, including around 50 in the EU. These offices were tasked with monitoring Chinese citizens, sparking fears activists could be tracked and harrasssed as part of a crackdown on dissent. Beijing claimed the centres were designed to allow their nationals to access administrative services. Now, Safeguard Defenders has produced a 165-page report detailing how the Chinese communist regime has also been abducting its own citizens on EU territory before f...
Euronews (English)
Over the last two years, the European Union has been involved in episodes that call into question democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. In 2022, several current and former members of the European Parliament were accused of involvement in a corruption scandal over money influence, which allegedly involved Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office mentioned "large sums of money" and "substantial gifts" paid by a Persian Gulf country with the aim of influencing European Union policies. Belgian police seized about €1.5 million in cash in dozens of house an...
Euronews (English)
Despite its importance to a free and democratic society, the rule of law situation is deteriorating across the EU. Even in countries with strong democratic traditions, We expect our leaders to listen to our opinions and follow the rules the same as everyone else. This is what the rule of law is all about, and it’s the foundation of our democracies. But the combination of declining democratic standards and the prospect of far-right parties entering government in Europe threatens to weaken this democratic foundation, as we’re already witnessing. As Liberties’ Rule of Law Report 2024 details, rul...
Euronews (English)
This would represent 0.10% and 0.13% of the EU's gross domestic product (GDP). The projection uses the existing rules and design of the 2021-2027 budget to extract a projection of how much money the war-torn nation would be entitled to after obtaining the coveted membership. Ukraine was first declared a candidate in June 2022 and was given the go-ahead for accession negotiations in December 2023. The findings exclude the enormous costs of reconstruction, estimated to be at least €450 billion over the next decade, and assume Ukraine would eventually regain all the territories in the East that R...
Euronews (English)
The hefty figure made headlines when Ursula von der Leyen teased the announcement during a visit to Warsaw last week. "We are impressed by your efforts and those of the Polish people to restore the rule of law as the backbone of your society. A society where everyone plays by the rules. A society where people and businesses can trust the institutions and can hold authorities to account," von der Leyen said speaking next to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The Commission has now formalised the move, giving the green light to two separate decisions that allow the Polish government to access th...
Euronews (English)
A deal to offer Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán EU funds as part of a deal over support for Ukraine was slammed by the bloc’s budget watchdog in a report released today (22 February). Brussels should enforce the rule of law based on sound analysis, not political horse-trading, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said. The European Commission has long had significant concerns over judicial independence in Poland and Hungary, but new rules it has introduced are far from watertight and prone to box-ticking, the report said. “The rule of law is one of the fundamental values of the EU,” ECA ...
Euronews (English)
The "action plan," presented by Justice Minister Adam Bodnar during a meeting of European affairs ministers in Brussels, consists of nine bills aimed at restoring judicial independence from the country's highest tribunal to the most ordinary courts. The overture is part of the diplomatic reset that Prime Minister Donald Tusk has spearheaded since taking office in December. "If Poland is out of this procedure, it means that we are stronger as a member state, that we might have more influence on how the European integration is going, and we will have more power in, also, supporting those ideas (...
Euronews (English)
Slovakia’s president said on Friday that she will challenge at the Constitutional Court an amendment to the country’s penal code that eliminates the office of the special prosecutor dealing with major crimes and corruption. President Zuzana Caputova said she was also asking Slovakia's top court to freeze the legislation, which was approved by lawmakers loyal to populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, until it decides on her complaint. It is not clear when the court will rule. The measure, approved by Parliament on Feb. 8, has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad. The changes include abolishin...
Euronews (English)
The non-binding text details a string of concerns about the current state of Greek democracy, including harassment of journalists, privacy violations, wiretapping of political opponents, excessive use of police force, conflicts of interests, alleged corruption, smear campaigns against civil society and the "systematic" pushbacks of migrants. Notably, MEPs ask the European Commission to assess whether the breaches of fundamental rights are grave enough to merit the review – and possible suspension – of the billions of euros in EU funds allocated to Greece. Some of the accusations, like what MEP...
Euronews (English)
The legislation, spearheaded by Viktor Orbán's ruling party and approved by the parliament in mid-December, empowers the state to investigate people and organisations suspected of undermining the country's sovereignty, with potential convictions of up to three years in prison. The implementation of the law rests on a new government office that will collect information on groups of individuals that receive foreign funding and are perceived to influence the public debate. Hungary's secret services are compelled to assist the office. The provisions of the bill, particularly its vaguely-worded man...
Euronews (English)
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