Rule of Law

European anti-fraud office opens investigation into Peter Mandelson

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) said it had opened an investigation into Peter Mandelson, ‌Britain's former ambassador to the U.S. and an ex-EU politician under scrutiny over his ties to…

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ECJ limits detention for rejected asylum seekers to 18 months

The European Court of Justice has ruled that rejected asylum seekers in the Netherlands must be released from detention after a maximum of 18 months, clarifying that this period covers…

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EU’s Reynders visits Poland to discuss restoring rule of law

WARSAW, Jan 19 (Reuters) - EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders visits Warsaw on Friday to discuss judicial reforms which could allow Poland access to billion of euros of EU funds…

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Democracy ‘not radically worse’ in EU than a year ago, says executive

BRUSSELS (Reuters/MaltaToday) - The European Union's latest democracy health check showed there was no significant deterioration across the 27-nation bloc in areas like media and court freedoms or efforts to…

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EU tells Hungary, Poland to step up their democracy game

BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) - The European Union told Hungary and Poland on Wednesday to improve judicial and media independence, as well as anti-graft safeguards, saying conditions to unlock billions in aid…

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EU executive in new bid to cut funds to Hungary for weakening democracy

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union executive started a new disciplinary procedure against Hungary on Tuesday in a step that could lead to freezing funding for Prime Minister Viktor Orban for undercutting…

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UPDATED: MEPs push Commission to act after ECJ dismisses Polish, Hungarian challenge to rule of law mechanism

The European Court of Justice has dismissed a Polish and Hungarian challenge to a new law that would allow the EU to cut funds to member countries that violate democratic…

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EU executive probes whether Poland, Hungary should get EU money

BRUSSELS, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The European Commission has started a long-awaited probe into whether Poland and Hungary should continue to receive billions of euros from the EU budget because…

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Poland summons Belgian ambassador in rule of law row

Poland has summoned Belgium's ambassador, a foreign ministry spokesman told state-run news agency PAP, after its Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, accused Warsaw of "playing with fire" in a worsening…

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EU seeks penalties on Poland in dispute over judicial reform

The European Commission said on Tuesday it had asked the EU's top court to impose financial penalties on Poland over the activities of a judges' disciplinary chamber, stepping up a long-running dispute with Warsaw over the…

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Key Polish ruling on primacy of EU law delayed

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal again postponed on Tuesday a planned ruling on whether the country's constitution or European Union treaties take precedence, a verdict that could call into question the bloc's legal order.…

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MEPs expected to push Commission to act on rule of law as Parliament returns

Members of the European Parliament return to Strasbourg this week with the evolving situation in Afghanistan expected to be high up on the agenda. However, it is the inter-institutional struggle…

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EU Commission says to analyse Poland’s dissolution of disciplinary chamber

The European Commission will analyse Poland's decision to scrap a disciplinary system for judges which critics say is a tool to pressure judges, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The Polish announcement came last…

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Poland to dissolve judges’ Disciplinary Chamber to meet EU demands

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will do away with a disciplinary system for judges which the EU's top court has ruled violates EU law, the head of the ruling PiS party…

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EU Socialists say rule of law report not enough, say clear direction, timelines are needed

The Socialist group in the European Parliament has welcomed the latest annual assessment on the rule of law in the EU but expressed concerns that the report will fail to…

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EU agenda

See the latest events at the European Parliament, European Commission and European Council for the week ahead Tuesday 6 July - On Tuesday morning, MEPs will discuss with Prime Minister…

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Slovenian presidency, rule of law and LGBT rights to top EU Parliament agenda next week

The rights of LGBTIQ people in Hungary, the Slovenian presidency’s priorities and rule of law are some of the hot topics on Parliament’s agenda during the 5-8 July plenary session.…

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European rights court says Poland denied judges right to appeal

WARSAW, June 29 (Reuters) - The Polish justice minister infringed on the rights of two court officials when he dismissed them without letting them appeal, the European Court of Human…

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EU sees first probes under money for rule-of-law regulation in Sept-Oct

The European Commission could in September or October start its first investigations into whether EU governments sufficiently respect the rule of law to qualify for EU budget and recovery funds,…

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EU parliament votes to sue European Commission over rule-of-law inaction

The European Parliament voted on Thursday to sue the European Commission over what lawmakers say is its failure to uphold the rule of law, in a dispute that could affect…

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Malta: Country passes MoneyVal test after raft of reforms

Malta’s anti-money laundering regime has formally passed a review by Moneyval. The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering expert committee, known as Moneyval, voted during a plenary in Strasbourg on Thursday…

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Civil society and law experts urge EU to act on Polish rule of law

Civil society organisations and legal experts from around the world urged the European Commission on Sunday to sue the Polish government in the EU's top court for undermining the independence…

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Chamber of Advocates expresses concern at proposed changes to Interpretation Act

The Chamber of Advocates expressed serious reservations with regard to the amendments being proposed to the Interpretation Act through Bill 198 presented in Parliament recently. In a statement, the Chamber…

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Malta: Repubblika appeals to Speaker to defend parliamentary democracy

Repubblika appealed to Speaker Dr Anglu Farrugia to defend Maltese parliamentary democracy and fight the impunity. Civil society NGO Repubblika is concerned about the government’s insistence that former prime minister…

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Rule of law mechanism should apply by January, MEPs insist

In yesterday's resolution, MEPs insisted that the Rule of Law mechanism should apply as of January 1. The European Council had issued a declaration to suspend the Rule of Law…

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Rule of law was no backdoor addition – Merkel

Suggestions that a requirement of adherence to the rule of law were introduced into proposals for the next European Union budget secretly, over the objections of some leaders, are not…

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77% of Europeans insist EU funds be linked to respect for Rule of Law- European Parliament survey

A majority of EU citizens supports a larger EU budget to overcome the pandemic. Public health is the priority, followed by economic recovery and climate change. In a new survey…

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Malta: Government proposes increase in retirement age for judges and magistrates

The Minister for Justice is expected to present a motion and a Parliamentary Bill related to the extension in the retirement age of Judges and Magistrates. The motion has already…

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Poland will veto EU budget and recovery plan if Brussels will impose rule-of-law conditions

Poland will veto the EU's €1.8 trillion budget and coronavirus recovery plan if Brussels imposes rule of law conditions, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, said in…

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EU member states urged to agree on Rule-of-Law to safeguard trust among member states

Vera Jourova, European Commission vice-president for values and transparency, was reported on the Financial Times urging the 27 countries and EU parliament now debating the new rule aimed at protecting…

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Malta developments on rule of law welcomed, but more needs to be done: European Commission

The first-ever report by the European Union’s executive on rule of law gaps across the bloc, singled out challenges to media and the judiciary as key risks to upholding democratic…

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Poland and Hungary to create institute for assessing rule of law in EU countries

Hungary and Poland will set up a joint institute to assess the state of rule of law across European Union member states so that they are "not taken for fools" over allegations of rule of law breaches, Hungary's foreign minister…

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Positive developments in the efficiency of justice systems in the EU while trust in judicial independence decreases

The EU has seen a continued improvement in the efficiency of justice systems in a large number of Member States. At the same time, according to the results of a…

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ECJ President warns Poland over judiciary reform as Venice Commission visits Poland ahead of Rule of Law vote in EP

Members of the Venice Commission visited the Polish Sejm (lower house of parliament) in Warsaw, to meet officials from the Justice Ministry, top courts, both houses of parliament and the judiciary…

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95% of Maltese want that ‘laws and rules’ apply in an equal way to everyone

95% of Maltese find it personally important or essential to them that the same laws and rules apply equally to every person, including all public authorities, irrespective of their personal…

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EU Commission announces new measures to protect Rule of Law in member states

The European Commission on Wednesday announced new measures aimed at protecting the rule of law in EU member states. The package, whose central feature is an annual EU-wide rule-of-law review,…

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Hungary’s lessons, applied in Poland… is it late for the EU’s championing of the Rule of Law?

Michael Meyer-Resende writes on the The Guardian that perhaps one day the spring of 2019 will be remembered as the moment when the European Union halted the destruction of democratic institutions in…

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Huge turnout for ‘black rally’ in Hong Kong to demand resignation of the territory’s leader

Channel News Asia reports that tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday dressed in black to demand the city’s embattled leader steps…

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Matteo Salvini’s attack on judiciary raises alarm on ‘rule-of-law’ in Italy

A simmering row over the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Italy has erupted after the interior minister Matteo Salvini publicly singled out three magistrates who…

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EU warns Romania it will act ‘without delay’ over ‘major’ rule of law concerns

Politico reports that the European Commission will “trigger the rule of law framework without delay” over “major concerns” about the state of rule of law in Romania, according to a…

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EU takes legal action against Poland

The EU has launched fresh legal action against Poland over controversial reforms to its legal system which it said represent a serious setback for legal freedoms. The European Commission…

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European Parliament raise concern about state of rule of law in Slovakia and Malta

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday raised concerns about the state of the rule of law in Slovakia and Malta. MEPs passed a resolution condemning “continuous efforts of a…

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Proposal so EU states scrutinise each other’s democratic track record

In an effort to beef up the EU’s defences against governments of member states flouting its key principles, Belgium and Germany have proposed that EU member states should be given…

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Egrant inquiry report should be published in full – Passport Scheme should be halted – Malta’s MEP debate roundup

MEPs called on the Maltese government to publish the full Egrant inquiry report, and to halt the country’s sale of passports scheme, in accordance with a draft motion for a…

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Romania’s Prime Minister accuses Western European leaders of double standards in criticising her country over corruption, cites France as an example

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă accused Western European leaders of double standards in criticizing her country over corruption and a crackdown on anti-government protests. Dăncilă, whose government holds the EU's…

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Protests against changes in the judiciary in Poland

According to Euronews hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Warsaw on Friday (July 20) to protest changes to Poland's judiciary. Four people were detained and two police officers were wounded.The crowd gathered…

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EU opens fresh legal case against Poland on Rule of Law

European Commission / Reuters: The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure by sending a Letter of Formal Notice to Poland regarding the Polish law on the Supreme Court, which critics says…

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European Commission proposed its post Brexit Budget – It proposes a new mechanism to protect the EU budget from financial risks linked to generalised deficiencies regarding the rule of law

The European Commission today unveiled its proposed budget for 2021-2027 describing it as a a pragmatic and modern. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Today is an important moment for our Union.…

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