The EU’s Annual Rule of Law Cycle was established by the European Commission in 2020 as a preventive tool that aims to “promote the rule of law and prevent challenges from emerging or deteriorating”. Now in its sixth year, with a new Commission in place and a focus on consolidation and implementation, it’s an important moment to pause and reflect. With this aim, on 30 April, Liberties and the UN’s regional office on human rights (OHCHR) organised a discussion to take stock and look at opportunities for reform.
The expert audience was primarily drawn from international and EU institutions, as well as Brussels-based and European civil society organisations - Christina Meinecke, Regional Representative of the UN Human Rights Regional Office for Europe (OHCHR) and Balazs Denes, Liberties’ executive director, opened the event.
Declining Rule of Law Standards Across the EU
Drawing on the Liberties 2025 Rule of Law report and other major rule of law indices, the trajectory is clear - the median rule of law score has declined, the poorest performers have pulled further away from the centre, and structural problems are evident. The European Commission highlighted how their own reports have generated deeper knowledge and are an important, year-on-year reference point. But from a civil society perspective, the diagnosis has not translated into action - it says something when countries previously perceived as leaders are starting to slide. Our Belgian and Slovakian members, the Ligue des Droits Humains and VIA IURIS, provided clear examples of democratic backsliding. In Belgium, the government openly refused to implement judgments, while in Slovakia, the executive launched a full-frontal attack on the legislative process, institutions and NGOs.
The Interconnection Between Human Rights and Rule of Law
The dialogue explored how the rule of law and human rights are interlinked. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association highlighted how they mutually reinforce each other—adherence to rule of law standards strengthens human rights, and vice versa. This means when the rule of law backslides, it often leads to attacks on human rights. We looked at the roles National Human Rights Institutions and civil society can play in slowing down the erosion of democracy and human rights. But when institutions are made subservient to the executive following political interference, resisting the state’s democratic dismantling becomes an uphill struggle for civil society, as exemplified by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s difficulties in stopping Orban from steamrolling Hungary’s democracy. Poland provides a cautionary tale - even with political will, entrenched rule of law violations can be difficult to reverse.
Refining the EU's Approach to Rule of Law
The event’s conclusions pointed to the importance of strengthening and refining the EU’s approach to the rule of law. The European Commission plans to maintain the central role of RoL reports, improve their quality, and enhance the impact of recommendations, linking them to the allocation of EU funds. Future efforts will focus on deepening country-specific knowledge, promoting dialogue within the Council, fostering inter-institutional cooperation, and ensuring the entire rule of law toolkit is fully utilised.
The discussion stressed the importance of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) recommendations to provide clarity, facilitate follow-up, and enable action when recommendations are not implemented. It was also proposed that a group of independent experts be reintroduced to provide robust assessments. Moreover, the potential to issue alerts in the middle of the cycle based on urgent developments was raised.
Looking ahead, key milestones include the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) plans, the next RoL cycle and EU enlargement, raising questions about whether the current system is sufficiently effective in addressing rule of law challenges.
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Photo credit: UN Human Rights
