The European Commission has published its fifth annual report on the rule of law, which analyses developments in the field of justice in all Member States. The report can be found here. 

The European Civic Forum (ECF), a transnational civil society network, gives its views on the EC report, stressing that ECF's monitoring of civic space has repeatedly shown that the rule of law, civic space and democracy are currently under threat. However, the Commission's report does not focus enough on the problem and ignores the link between the rule of law, equality and human rights, and the report's recommendations on civic space are seen as weak.

"If the Commission is serious about protecting the rule of law, it needs to expand the scope of the report, develop an early warning mechanism, and ensure that the report is immune from political influence. Civil society is ready to work with the Commission to achieve this", says Aarti Narsee, ECF's Head of Policy and Advocacy. The ECF's published position paper is available here.

The European Commission's 2024 report includes, as every year, a Communication analysing the situation in the EU as a whole, and 27 country chapters looking at relevant developments in each Member State. The report also includes an assessment of last year's recommendations and, on this basis, reiterates the recommendations addressed to Member States. The report covers national judicial systems, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and pluralism, and other institutional checks and balances.