by Erwan Fouéré
Connemara, Ireland. 1st December 2024.
Rule of law, democracy and fundamental freedoms
The rule of law, democracy and fundamental freedoms, principles that we took for granted for far too long are being tested like never before. Statements or actions we would have regarded as unimaginable or abhorrent a few years ago have become the new normal. Recent parliamentary and presidential elections in Europe and across the Atlantic have brought to the fore individuals and parties that espouse populist, far right agendas that undermine the basic principles and values that are the foundation stones for European integration and are reflected in the many international institutions and conventions that arose in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The most recent elections to the European Parliament are reflective of this worrying trend, and will no doubt have a negative impact on some of the EU’s priorities, whether they be in the area of climate change and the Green Deal, or in relation to the EU’s enlargement agenda, where some of these populist parties equate the policy of admitting more countries into the EU with the toxic debate on immigration. Some of these individuals and parties are also apologists for Putin’s aggressive behaviour and his brutal invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
That these dangerous populist trends and increasing instances of autocratic leadership are happening within the European Union itself should have caused the alarms bells to ring a long time ago. To add to this situation, political parties and indeed our societies as a whole are increasingly at the mercy of hybrid warfare perpetrated by malign influences mainly coming, but not exclusively, from Russia – disinformation campaigns, infiltration and financing of political parties, cyber attacks on crucial infrastructure such as underwater cables ( as witnessed by the recent attempted sabotage in the Baltic Sea and Irish coast guard vessels having to escort the Yantar, a Russian spy vessel out of Irish waters where it was spotted using drones in an area where energy and internet infrastructure underwater cables are located ), not to mention brazen acts of violence and murder carried out in broad daylight in EU member countries.
The New European Commission
Just ten days ago, the new European Commission under the leadership of its President, Ursula von der Leyen, started its five year mandate. It is indeed welcome news that she has placed the EU’s enlargement agenda on the top of its priorities. We hope that this means the delays and failed promises towards the Western Balkan region will be replaced by a more hands-on renewed momentum as well as strict limitations on the use of the veto power by individual member states on issues that have nothing to do with accession criteria, which notably successive Macedonian governments and citizens have suffered from.
We also hope it will mean greater focus on democracy and rule of law reforms in the candidate countries, and thus reverse the excessive emphasis in the past on security and border management issues with backsliding on democratic reforms being ignored .
“Guardian of the Treaties”.
Equally important for the new Commission will be the need for a much more robust push back against the increased threats to the rule of law and democratic standards within the EU itself. The autocratic behaviour of a number of political leaders within the EU member states simply can no longer be ignored. It should be recalled that the European Commission’s key role is “Guardian of the Treaties”. As such, it must ensure that all EU member states comply with EU law, including Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.
This is a legally binding commitment. Sadly we have seen in recent years that the Commission has failed to perform this role effectively. Despite violations by individual member states such as Hungary or more recently Slovakia, the Commission has been slow to react or even reluctant to initiate formal infringement proceedings which are provided for in the Treaties, and bring cases before the Court of Justice of the EU. To quote a recent report from the Centre for European Policy Studies, “the EU’s rule of law credentials over the past few years have revealed an alarming deficit that threatens the very foundations of European integration”.(*)
Behaviour of PM Victor Orban
The current Hungarian government under the Premiership of Victor Urban is probably the worst offender. He claims for himself the exclusive right to define what he considers to be right and wrong. His first targets were universities where he forced the prestigious Central European University into exile. Using emergency powers he has imposed his socially conservative, anti-diversity agenda on cultural and educational institutions, and took control of the main media outlets.
His attacks on civil society and few remaining independent media, and the crude propaganda campaigns against for example the Open Society Foundation have sought to instil fear, often resulting in self censorship. He is constantly testing the boundaries of what he can achieve, before the European Commission decides to act. And because it has been slow to act and initiate legal proceedings, the Orban government often simply goes ahead acting with total impunity. The manner in which it has used the Council Presidency for these six months, which is fortunately coming to an end at the end of this month, is proof enough of Orban’s overall dismissive attitude towards the EU’s institutions.
The start of a new mandate for the European Commission, coupled with new personalities to assume key posts in the EU institutional system offers an important moment in which to regain the upper hand and ensure a more assertive EU approach in defending its core principles and values. In the same report I mentioned earlier, the CEPS has put forward a number of key recommendations to that effect, ensuring effective enforcement of Article 2. It proposes key improvements to the EU’s annual Rule of Law reports on the performance of each member state to make sure the recommendations made for each are followed up ( the Court of Auditors found that in 2023, only 11% of the recommendations were implemented in full ); it also proposes the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism for democracy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms.
The overall aim is to guarantee that the EU institutions uphold the “triangular relationship between fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law, ensuring that these principles influence every aspect of the EU’s operation and governance.”
Role of Civil Society
These actions in themselves will not be sufficient to bring the ship of democracy back on track and ensure it is steering in the right direction. To be successful in the long run, they must be accompanied by a greater role for civil society organisations in policy making and policy decisions. In the enlargement process and accession negotiations, consultation with civil society is a requirement for governments. Very often however it is a pro forma requirement with governments playing lip service to the involvement of civil society organisations in the reform agenda.
This is particularly damaging in the Western Balkan region, where the system of checks and balances is weak, and institutions and the rule of law remain fragile. Here again, the European Commission needs to be much more pro-active in monitoring and maintaining pressure on governments of candidate countries to fulfil their reform commitments.
Preservation of independent media
The same is true with regard to the preservation of independent media free from government harassment and intimidation, which remains a disturbing feature of the media landscape in the region, for example in North Macedonia, where media representatives and individual journalists are often the target of legal proceedings, and/ or harassment perpetrated by supporters of the government using social media, resulting in self censorship or worse.
The most recent Quarterly Report from the Skopje based European Policy Institute refers to the „legal uncertainty for the protection of journalists and media crews, as well as for safeguarding freedom of expression”, while the most recent European Commission annual country report refers to several instances of attacks and threats against journalists.
The report calls on the country to “promptly address all threats and acts of violence against journalists and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.” After much discussion between the European Commission and European Parliament, the latter approved earlier this year a Directive on Strategic lawsuits against public participation ( so-called SLAPP directive ), aimed at protecting journalists and those who engage in public participation from intimidation and abusive legal proceedings.
Legislation is fine as far as it goes, but w what we must change is the mindset where governments’ try to stifle criticism and resort to hiding the truth while spreading fear . Without independence of the media and preserving the role of investigative reporting, a country’s democratic credentials are greatly diminished. In its regular evaluation of the reform record in the candidate countries, the European Commission will need to prioritise substance over form and put in place a more effective monitoring mechanism to make sure that the necessary reforms are fully implemented and respected.
Concluding Warning
In the introduction to his book “Balkan Strongmen”, Bernd Fischer suggests that in order to gain a clearer picture of the Balkans in the 21st century, “it is important to try and understand those who did much to get us where we are today – the Balkan strongmen of the twentieth century.” (**).
They all provided some levels of stability which often camouflaged their ruthless regimes. He underlines that it is not inconceivable that such individuals might resurface in one form or another. The EU and indeed all of society should ponder these matters not just in a region where the weight of history looms larger than in any other part of Europe but also within the EU itself. Let me conclude by congratulating once again the organisers of the conference for providing a forum highlighting some of the critical challenges and dangers to those democratic values and fundamental freedoms that are the foundation stones of the European integration process. We must never take for granted the successes achieved so far in the European peace project, as it seeks to expand the frontiers of peace and security.
(*) The EU path to 2030- Defining priorities for a stronger Union. Chapter on The rule of law agenda for 2030 – Priorities for a principled area of freedom, security and justice. CEPs publication, 2024
(**) Bernd J. Fischer, Balkan Strongmen – Dictators and Authoritarian rulers of Southeast Europe, London : Hurst and Company Publishers, 2006.
