On Tuesday, 1 July, Renew Europe adopted a position paper establishing a European Semester on the Rule of Law. This initiative was launched and led by Sophie Wilmès, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the DRFMG (Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group). The strategic document now becomes the official position of the group, reaffirming that the defence of democracy and the rule of law remains a central pillar of the political mission of liberals and centrists in the European Parliament.
Sophie Wilmès explains:
“What we are proposing here is to build on what already exists to establish a true European monitoring cycle on the rule of law within the EU. This cycle would provide a continuous, structured process with greater clarity for Member States and citizens, as well as clearly identified key milestones. With this annual cycle, Europe should be better equipped to act swiftly in preventing democratic backsliding and/or, in certain cases, to apply appropriate sanctions.”
“Europe is currently facing a deliberate political offensive aimed at imposing Mr. Orbán’s so-called ‘illiberal’ model of society, along with his allies. As the name suggests, this model rejects the very principles of liberal democracy such as individual freedoms, human rights, and the rule of law as enshrined in our treaties. Yet there can be no freedom of enterprise or economic development in the face of abuse of power and corruption. There can be no personal empowerment or freedom of choice when individual rights and liberties are constantly under threat.”
“Hungary may no longer be the isolated case it once was. That is why we must implement a structured, transparent, and effective cycle as proposed here.”
The European Semester on the Rule of Law is structured in several key stages, summarized as follows:
The starting point remains the Commission’s report, now published in June, which will for the first time include clear milestones, similar to those developed under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). It will have a precise timeline as well for implementing the recommendations for each Member State. The implementation will then be monitored throughout the year by both the Commission and the Parliament. The Parliament, as the following May (year+1) approaches, will vote on an evaluation report on the implementation, accompanied by a list of actions to be taken by other institutions (Commission, Council), which may include anything from deadline extensions for implementation to the activation of sanctions (suspension of funds, infringement procedures, Article 7, etc.).
The position paper also proposes reforming sanction mechanisms to make them more efficient. For example, the Article 7 procedure is improved in the proposal by introducing clear deadlines, in order to prevent the process from remaining open for years without any progress, as is currently the case.
The position paper will soon be presented to Mr. Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection.