EU: Problems with the rule of law persist

Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the EU Commission, and Didier Reynders, Member of the EU Commission responsible for justice, gave a press conference on the annual “Rule of Law” report prepared by the EU Commission, which assesses member states in areas such as judicial independence, freedom of the press and the fight against corruption.

Jourova stated that no radical regression was observed in any member country in this report, adding that there is still much room for improvement.

“CORRUPTION LAWSUITS WERE NOT A HEALTHY INVESTIGATION”

In the report, it was emphasized that systemic problems related to some member states continue, corruption allegations against Hungary related to senior officials and their close circles were not fully investigated, there was no development to address various challenges to media pluralism, and the government undermined the legal system by continuing to use its emergency powers.

The report recommended that some progress has been made on the independence of the judiciary in relation to Poland, but even better application of the principle of separation of powers.

In the report, which refers to the wiretapping scandals in Greece and other EU countries, it is stated that in 2023 developments were detected in relation to the use of spyware such as Pegasus against journalists, lawyers, politicians, parliamentarians and citizens, and that this is not in line with EU law. (AA)