The rule of law in the EU continues to decline, says a new report from the organization Liberties. The EU as an institution itself is also criticized.
March 30, 2026, 1:39 p.mMarch 30, 2026, 1:39 p.m
The human rights organization “Civil Liberties Union for Europe” (“Liberties” for short) has published its report for the seventh time published on the current status of the rule of law in the EU.
The report, which was published on Monday and focuses on the four subject areas of justice, corruption, media freedom and separation of powers, comes to a similar conclusion as in recent years:
“Democracy is still in decline.”
Liberties Rule of Law Report 2026
“Liberties” explicitly names five governments in EU countries that “consistently and deliberately” undermine the rule of law: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia.
“Consistently and deliberately” undermines the rule of law: Hungary under Viktor Orban.Image: keystone
The governments in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Malta and Sweden are also explicitly mentioned. The report notes that in these countries the rule of law is declining in some areas, although this is not part of “an overarching political strategy”. These countries – most of which are traditionally considered strong democracies – are referred to as “sliders” in the report.
The third category also mentioned is so-called “stagnation countries”, i.e. EU member states in which the rule of law is neither improving nor deteriorating. These are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
The only country that the report highlights positively is Latvia.
EU recommendations practically ineffective
In order to show the extent of the rule of law problem, this year’s report focuses on “the large number of repeated and unimplemented rule of law recommendations from the EU Commission.”
The rule of law recommendations of the EU Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen are practically ineffective.Image: keystone
The analysis shows that 93 percent of all the commission’s recommendations for 2025 were “repetitions from previous years”. At the same time, only nine new recommendations were added. It goes on to say that in 61 percent of the recommendations there was no “visible progress” and in 13 percent of the recommendations there was even a regression.
The report concludes:
“None of the recommendations were fully implemented.”
Liberties Rule of Law Report 2026
EU undermines itself
The EU institutions themselves were also examined in the report for the rule of law and its undermining. A similar pattern emerges as in the Member States themselves, namely:
- The use of extraordinary, accelerated legislative procedures has been normalized
- Important guarantees for fundamental rights have been dismantled
- Targeted campaigns were launched against civil society organizations to undermine them
The organization sees this as one of the main problems in promoting the rule of law within Europe. With the above-mentioned patterns, the EU continues to undermine its own actions “as a guardian and advocate of constitutional standards.”
The EU would therefore need a stronger, more targeted approach in order to have a real impact and prevent further regression, it goes on to say. “This should include systematic reporting, clear recommendations with measurable goals and consistent steps to take legal or other measures if countries do not comply.” (ome)