Policy briefs
6 October 2025
What it takes to protect fundamental values in the European Union
Canva
In short
- The Rule of Law Report of the European Commission is the centrepiece of the EU’s annual rule of law cycle and serves to keep track of the state of the rule of law in all EU Member States
- This year’s edition of the report explicitly emphasizes the impact of rule of law violations on the EU economy and budget. In this way, the report provides a key source for applying the EU’s budgetary conditionality instruments
- The report does, however, not explicitly assess the impact of rule of law violations on the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights
- Due to this blind spot, the report is not a helpful source to tackle the increasing instances of backsliding on these rights in Member States
- The report’s overall relevance and credibility will be enhanced when it also monitors and assesses the state of the protection of fundamental rights in the Member States. It is thereby also essential that the report’s recommendations are translated into concrete actions and clear enforcement measures, ensuring that persistent non-compliance results in tangible consequences
This report was published on RED-SPINEL.
In July 2025, the European Commission published its sixth edition of its annual Rule of Law Report, which provides a basis for deploying EU instruments to protect the rule of law and fundamental rights. For its latest edition, the report explicitly emphasizes the economic and budgetary impact of rule of law violations, making it easier to apply the budgetary instruments for rule of law conditionality. Yet, the report remains weak on fundamental rights and freedoms, as it does not adequately monitor regressions in this field. At a time of mounting challenges to liberal democracy, overlooking the monitoring of fundamental rights undermines the report’s relevance and credibility.
